by Martin Unsworth

Following up the superb Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes could have been a big ask for director Junta Yamaguchi and writer Makoto Ueda. With River, they have taken a similar concept but taken it in different directions.

Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) works at a Japanese Inn in Kibune, Kyoto. Returning to work after a break where she was gazing at the flowing river at the side of the building, she’s surprised that she suddenly turns up back where she started two minutes later. Even more alarming is everybody else is having the same thing happen. And they’re aware of it and remember that it’s happening and what they’ve done in the previous moments. Panic sets in before they all have to work together to make sense of all the looping.

Using a similar narrative twist may be considered lazy, but Yamaguchi’s film is unique enough to make it worthwhile. Indeed, thanks to the charming characters, Fujitani in particular, who are given a chance to grow with the progression of the looped two minutes, a rich narrative is able to be spun rather than mere repetition. When you know what’s going to happen, how much are you able to change it? It’s an interesting concept, and an added bit of romance and an even bigger surprise twist in the final act make it worth the while. There’s plenty of humour within the madness, too (“Does this mean we get paid more?”), and the characters slowly come to realise the value of time. Each loop is played as one continuous shot, the camera frantically following Mikoto as she attends to the guests in the inn and then later to her own needs. If you’ve ever felt your life is a repeating treadmill each day, be thankful it’s not every 120 seconds.

River had its UK premiere at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 26th.