Director: Junta Yamaguchi
Screenplay: Makoto Ueda
Starring: Riko Fujitani, Manami Honjô, Gôta Ishida, Yoshimasa Kondô, Shiori Kubo, Masahiro Kuroki, Kohei Morooka, Munenori Nagano
Country: Japan
Running Time: 86 min
Year: 2023
BBFC Certificate: 12
Director Junta Yamaguchi and his Europe-Kikaku theatre troop cohorts were greatly surprised by the success of their debut feature film, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, so wanted to follow that up as soon as they could. With the style and concept going down so well with festival audiences around the world, the team felt they should make their next film in a similar vein.
Thankfully, writer Makoto Ueda had plenty of other high-concept sci-fi fantasy ideas in his arsenal and production began in early 2023 on River. Operating with a higher budget than Yamaguchi’s mobile phone-shot debut, expectations have been high and now British audiences will have the chance to see how it turned out, with Third Window releasing River on Blu-ray, DVD and digital.
The film is set in the beautiful, tranquil Kibune district in Kyoto. There, the traditional Fujiya Inn stands as a sanctuary for weary travellers and tourists looking for a break. However, a strange phenomenon throws its patrons and staff into turmoil.
Mikoto (Riko Fujitani), a diligent waitress at the inn, finds herself inexplicably drawn back to the Kibune River, where she stood two minutes earlier, and the head clerk (Munenori Nagano) she meets soon after is also experiencing a strange sensation of deja vu. Their confusion and concern only grow when they find themselves once again returning to their original spots after two minutes.
They discover that everyone within a close proximity of the Inn is experiencing this two-minute time loop, continually returning to where they were previously, with everything around them ‘resetting’. The more this is repeated, the more troubled and frustrated the staff and guests get.
The staff attempt to keep everyone level-headed though and try their best to remain calm and solve this puzzling mystery.
I enjoyed Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes a great deal and it even snuck onto my top ten films of 2021 list. As such, my expectations were high for River but it didn’t disappoint.
As with its predecessor, River takes a potentially head-spinning sci-fi/fantasy concept and uses it to form a small-scale, delightful comedy with a lightness of touch missing from most Hollywood productions with similarly high-concept narratives.
While not offering many belly-laughs, River is consistently charming and ebullient, even when a few dark edges are thrown into the mix. To make the film a little different this time, Yamaguchi and co wanted to focus on the emotions of their protagonists and their lives and daily activities, rather than go too heavy on the sci-fi/fantasy concept. As such, we get some side plots and character arcs that perhaps aren’t deep or original but add enough empathy and drama to keep you engrossed amongst the time-loop hijinx.
Though Yamaguchi never mentions it in his interview on the disc and I haven’t seen anyone else suggest such a take, I found myself seeing the film as a loose metaphor for the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps I’m reaching a bit, but the way the characters are thrown into this repetitive loop with little clue of when they might get out of it, trapped in a small space for a seemingly endless amount of time, felt similar to the situation many faced during 2020 and 2021. Also, those left to keep everyone going and sane during the pandemic were largely in the service industry, much like our protagonists in the film. This kept my head ticking over on top of the clever central conceit.
Whilst the visual style, at first glance, has that bland, clean look typical to many independent Japanese productions, there is some cleverly orchestrated photography on display. In Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, Yamaguchi shot the film in 7 takes, designed to make it look like the whole film was one long take. Here, the concept doesn’t allow this but he does shoot each 2-minute loop in one long take. This might not sound like a great achievement on paper, but with the camera rushing around the location, up and down stairs, narrow corridors and even across the titular river in places, it has a great energy.
Like with Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, the performances in River can feel broad but, as I said in my review of that film, this is quite common in Japanese cinema. Plus, the performers come from a theatrical background, so it’s understandable.
Overall, however, River is another clever, beautifully executed gem from director Junta Yamaguchi and writer Makoto Ueda that’s as charming as it is inventive. I think it might easily make my top ten of the year, much like their last film together did.
Film: 
River is out on 12th February on region-free Blu-ray, DVD and VOD in the UK, released by Third Window Films. I watched the Blu-ray version and the picture looks crisp and colours are natural. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give you an idea of how it looks. I had no issues with the audio either.
There are a few special features included:
– Interview with director Junta Yamaguchi
– 1 hour long Making Of
– Trailer
– Region Free
In his interview, Yamaguchi talks about the inception, development and production of the film. It’s a valuable piece that helps you better appreciate what went into making River.
The hour-long ‘making of’ is wonderful too. The team faced great difficulties during production due to the nature of the fixed 2-minute, long-shot takes, as well as some major weather issues. They joke around through most of it though, making the documentary almost as charming as the film itself. You can sense that they all have a history together through their theatre work and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. Though, as is bizarrely common in I think every Japanese behind-the-scenes documentary I’ve seen, there’s an obsession with showing the leaving ceremonies of every notable cast member!
So, Third Window have put together an excellent package for a little gem of a film.
Disc/Package: 
