Ribâ, nagarenaide yo

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.

What a great little indie film. Loved the female lead character Mikoto, she kept me watchingl While stuck in a loop, the staff of a hotel try to both keep their guests happy and informed while also attempting to understand and extricate themselves from the situation. Unlike other loop themed tales, everyone recalls everything from previous iterations. This allows them to perform a variety of experiments to gain information that could lead to an exit. At same time all the usual human responses and interactions proceed apace. With an overlay of Japanese mannerisms, the story is completely beguiling.

Give it a try.

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.

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/Dois Minutos Além do Infinito (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, A Princesa e o Plebeu (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)

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!