Anomaly Film Festival Coverage
River review.
The opening feature of the 5th annual Anomaly Film Festival was the extraordinary time loop movie River. Funny, surprising, moving and totally one of a kind.
Festival movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
River
Directed by Junta Yamaguchi
Written by Makoto Ueda
Starring Riko Fujitani, Manami Honjô, Gôta Ishida, Yoshimasa Kondô, Shiori Kubo, Masahiro Kuroki and Munenori Nagano
River Review
This is (predominantly) a horror movie website. So, you may be asking yourself…why is this adorable, hilarious, heartfelt time loop movie being covered here? The long answer is that it was the opening feature for the Anomaly Film Festival…the line-up of which will be getting a lot of coverage on the site for the next two weeks. While we rarely stray from films that fit under the horror umbrella…it has happened before. Violent Night and Sisu are action movies…but they do employ some horror elements to find success. River (very briefly) does too. But it is easily the biggest compromise on our “horror adjacent” doctrine.
The short answer? It’s a masterpiece.
Yes. I used the “M” word. It seems genre isn’t the only boundary that River is breaking through for us. As a rule, I don’t like to label anything a masterpiece after first viewing. We try to reserve the designation for things that stand the test of time…things that change the game in some way going forward. River represents the only way for a new release to garner what we consider to be a true distinction. It’s the best version of a type of movie I’ve ever seen.
That type, specifically, is a time loop movie. Groundhog Day, Palm Springs, and Run Lola Run are popular examples of the subgenre. Horror has dipped its toes into the water with the concept in Triangle, The Final Girls, and Happy Death Day. River finds a perfect rhythm within the idea. It has everything you could possibly want from a viewing experience. Mystery, humor, great characters, moving moments, romance, unexpected reveals… River takes it all and packs it into a two-minute loop.
How much can you possibly do in two minutes? It turns out…you can do anything. The characters in River are all aware that they are caught in this time distortion. They retain the memories of what happened in previous loops. While the world around them is doomed to reset itself…their lives carry on. Every two minutes they are returned to their starting positions…but they gather information as they loop. Information about the situation…about each other…and about themselves.
River features an excellent location. Set at a beautiful mountain inn on the banks of a river…the even finer cast has no shortage of things to do within two minutes of time. The staff of the inn tries to keep their guests’ spirits up. It’s an eclectic group. A frustrated writer who takes some relief in a vanishing deadline. A man destined to reset in the bath with a hair full of shampoo. Two men feasting from a constantly refilling rice bowl. A woman looking for help when her transportation breaks down. And…the workers themselves.
Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) serves as our starting point for each loop. She stands by the edge of the river…returning there every two minutes. Her boyfriend is a chef at the inn…and he has thoughts of studying French cuisine…in France. Another chef is, luckily, interested in the science of time distortion. Mikoto’s fellow staff members have their own starting points…each loop beginning with them in different parts of the inn. Repeatedly attempting to gather and maintain happiness for their guests is just one of several sources of comedy in River.
This is a very funny movie. The loop presents the film with unique opportunities to provide a laugh. It never misses. But that isn’t the only emotion that River goes for. This is a sweet movie about good people. Whether you want a bit of adorable romance, growing desperation, moving heartbreak or just completely unexpected moments…there are enough loops to give you everything that you are after. Two minutes, it turns out, is just the right amount of time.
I’d be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t enjoy River. Director Junta Yamaguchi and his pitch perfect cast wring every emotion out of Makoto Ueda’s mind-blowing script. The mountain inn provides a beautiful canvas for them to paint whatever they want to…knowing that in two minutes it will erase…allowing them to start again with all the experience they’ve already gained. Each segment carries its own feeling. Comedy, romance, beauty, pain, hopelessness, joy, mystery, answers… It’s only when you stand back to look at the whole picture that you can see it for what it truly is. A masterpiece.
Scare Value
The only thing left to say about this slice of brilliance is that it is a shame everyone can’t experience it immediately. I don’t know when we’ll see River available for easy access…but when it is I recommend you put it straight to the top of your watchlist. At their best, time loop stories make what was unknown into something comfortable and familiar. We all fell in love with Punxsutawney by the time Bill Murray finally reached February 3rd. It takes even less time to love River‘s lovely mountain inn….and even more lovely inhabitants.
5/5
