River - The Timeloop Hotel

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!

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.

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!

This is a great little movie, a real gem and an absolute must watch wether you're into fantasy or science fiction or not, wether you're into japanese movies and culture or not. It is a movie done with a very small budget and small group of actors basically in one single location. The script is mostly hilarious and moving at times, so full of inventions and situations and the characters are all extremely well crafted. The direction is purely virtuosic. Basically each two minutes loop is a non stop sequence and each one of them is different from the other. I do not want to spoil any element as it's important to watch it without knowing anything more than the basic concept. Believe me, I do not write reviews very often and if I do it's for an extremely good reason.

I'd give this a 7.5, but I'm rounding up for being short and to the point.

This is an extremely Japanese movie. The look, the feel, the Shintoism, the soundtrack, everybody working together to solve a problem, the efficient production, and even the sci-fi element felt straight out of some kind of anime. It explores the idea of people in a small area being stuck in a 2 minute time loop, and takes a very light hearted approach on the subject. Even the darker moments are done with a bit of a smile. I particularly enjoyed the development of the main characters facial expressions every time she reset.

A joy of an indie film, but be ready to pay attention because it's almost all dialogue.