Two years ago in 2021, Junta Yamaguchi’s Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes wowed festival crowds. It had a simple premise: a group of people discover a television able to show images from two minutes in the future; and it charmed audiences everywhere. Now Yamaguchi returns with his follow-up – River.
Yamaguchi sticks with both science-fiction and time-travel for his latest venture, but moves from the locale of a busy cafe, to a fancy hotel in rural Kibune. Rather than travel in time, the residents and workers find themselves trapped in a time-loop that resets every two minutes. As everyone tries desperately to solve the mystery and restart the natural flow of time, all of their secret truths start to reveal themselves.
Just as with Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, River is a delight to watch. Yamaguchi sticks to being the Japanese sci-fi nerd answer to Wes Anderson and once more the result is joyfully funny. The location is beautiful, Yamaguchi bringing in far more exterior locations than last time around. The costumes are also beautifully realised, managing that Wes Anderson trait of ensuring each character stands apart from the others. With only two minutes per loop, making characters easily identifiable is vital. Each person’s loop ordeal lends humour. Across the hotel people are trapped in a perpetually repeating routine, such as eating the same bowl of rice, stuck in a never-ending shower; one worker is forever heating a bottle of saké that will never achieve temperature. Every plight gets at least two minutes in the spotlight and both the cast and Yamaguchi play their stories with witty over-the-top energy and expression.
Amongst the laughs are some darker moments, but overall River is determined to give the viewer a fun time. The two minute format worked exceptionally well last time for Yamaguchi, and yet again, two proves to be his magic number. The amount of action and dialogue squeezed into each two minute segment is ingenious. Yamaguchi is sure to constantly change things up. The characters may be living a somewhat repetitive existence, but the viewer is not. No two loops are the same, so the viewer is kept on the very tips of their toes.
Of all the technical elements, it is the camerawork that deserves the highest praise. Forever moving alongside, behind, or ahead of the characters, it conveys the sensation that the viewer is there amongst the chaos. Although trapped by its ever changing focal point, the audience never gets the feeling that they want to be with anybody else. As with Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, it is clear that everything in River has been meticulously planned. The strict construction however, does not feed into the feel of the film. In contrast to the organised constraint, River feels wild and free. The story plays out loose and without rigidity, the audience taken along with the flow.
Time loop stories are so often filled with dread and despair. Yamaguchi switches tact and fills his loop with wonder and opportunities. With a breath-taking setting, a well meaning heart, and plenty of instances of amusement, River marks another science-fiction success for Yamaguchi.
River
Summary
A must-watch for fans of time-travel and time loops, River is yet another riveting and uplifting science-fiction story from Junta Yamaguchi.
River was reviewed at Fantasia International Film Festival. River will next screen at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest in August.
