River

This movie is so entertaining and it's mainly so thanks to the chemistry between the cast and crew which evidently suggests how fun (and hard) the preparation would've been. It's like a theatre group enchanting us with their presence and talent at so many places. I really wish that I get to witness these actors and filmmakers (of the theatre club Tollywood) in numerous other projects.

This movie, River, while in no way was better than Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes/Dorosute no hate de bokura (2020), which introduced me to this awesome talent pool a few days ago (Nov 28th, 2023 to be precise), when I had lost hope that original, accurate, and entertaining movies could still exist.

However, this one was probably more charged emotionally, even though we only gets to see more of Mikoto and Tako, who makes it feel like a romantic comedy (but in a good way).

The plot device of time loop is okayish and isn't exactly explained as much as it could've been. Even the attempts to resolve the conflict were quite rushed, quick, and not at all came when stakes were high. At times, the repetition did seem a bit too much. Other characters could been shown more often than Mikoto's sole viewpoint everytime the loop reset. Would've loved more of that serial writer, publisher, and the duo who just ate rice and chatted (but even then they're funnier than probably everyone else).

It also had one of the best dates in movies and that brilliant reference to Audrey Hepburn-Gregory Peck classic, Vacances romaines (1953).

Overall. Better than most movies of present era. At least most original movies. Not among the best though, unfortunately.

7.3/10.

(Jan 22nd, 2024)

No pun intended - the filmmaker himself made a video that we got to see before the movie (Weird Weekender Festival in Stuttgart). He admitted that he is good with .. time! And if you have seen Beyond infinite two minutes, you know he is not lying. The question is, if you want to watch a movie that is similar to that.

While this is good (added comedy I reckon) and still quite twisted in a sense, the former movie is a tiny bit better than this one. That said, you do get new and original ideas with this one. And maybe even an explanation why something happens ... to a specific group of people in a specific area ... we follow one character for most of the movie. That said, we do get to see a lot of people besides her.

There are some inconsistencies when it comes to logic (especially when we have a "hunt" going on), but with a movie and an idea like that it is better to suspend your disbelief.

Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) works at a remote inn located in the mountains north of Kyoto, where she has congenial co-workers and usually pleasant customers. While gazing at the river bordering the inn one day, she suddenly finds that she and the other inhabitants of the inn have fallen into a "time loop," where every two minutes she is inexplicably back at the river as if the previous two minutes had never occurred! Fortunately one of the chefs at the inn was a "science major," and he goes to work at deducing the cause of the loop with the aim of restoring proper time to the inn; in the meantime, all of the people there must find ways to cope with their strange predicament....

Two years ago, Montreal's Fantasia Festival (online that year) showed "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes," one of the most hilarious films about time loops ever made; "River" is director Junta Yamaguchi's bigger-budget follow-up, and like its predecessor it is both charming and hilarious for the entirety of its short (82-minute) length. I don't want to say more because the film should be experienced with no preconceptions, so let me just note that you are unlikely to find anything more visually beautiful, with more exquisite and perfect timing from both the actors and the scenarios being enacted, anywhere in this or any other universe. Highly, highly recommended!

Asian cinema. With pleasure. Not even 90 minutes. Absolutely.

The visuals are a journey back in time to the 90s of Asian cinema, especially because of the lighting.

To digress a little first: Scenes shown make a European somehow melancholy. Japan has preserved its traditions and culture, its identity. No alienation, er I mean "diversity" of course, no loss of values, quality of life and inner security through unpleasant religions or primitive origins. As if more and more pages are being torn out of a book that is hundreds of years old. Those who don't understand its written words, will never understand them, don't want to understand them or are generally illiterate, don't care.

Back to the point: The basic premise of the time loop is of course nothing new, but the extremely short two minutes here open up completely new possibilities for ideas. And the film is bursting with them. The entire running time is entertaining, consistently interesting, often funny, sometimes sad. Even for viewers with viewing habits that deviate from this cinematic origin, I think the film can be consumed without hesitation and offers a wonderful time in front of the screen.

Time loop movies are nothing new at this point but it's done in a way I haven't seen before here, and the Japanese flair adds to the novelty feeling. It's pretty cute, well directed and acted (unless you have an issue with the usual Japanese "overacting" style). I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I found the denouement to be a bit of a let down. Still recommended!