River, Nagarenaide yo (2023)

River of time

River was a quirky time loop film centered at an inn on the scenic Kibune River. The guests and workers are forced to face their own emotional loops and discover how to resolve an actual time loop that occurs every two minutes.

Waitress Mikoto and clerk Kohachi realize they are having a conversation for the second time. Within two minutes Mikoto is transported back to the river’s edge. The situation is repeated for all of the guests and workers wherever they might be. Together they seek to find the cause and breadth of the time loop. As the affected people begin to despair, tempers fray and secrets come to light.

I enjoyed this revved up Groundhog’s Day where everyone was in on the situation. I did pity the actors as many of the repetitious scenes involved the characters running upstairs, not an easy task for the women in kimonos. There was a continuity issue of the changing weather. One moment it was green and sunny, the next there were several inches/cm of snow and ice on all of the surfaces and then back to greenery. The camera work and acting weren’t very advanced, but not overly distracting. Thankfully, the story moved forward even if time did not. Many of the characters were stuck in their lives and afraid to make decisions or share feelings. The repeated two minutes gave them time to think about their obstacles and relationships, helping them to resolve their problems. And for one chef, the chance to act out his revenge fantasy. That might come back to bite him when the clocks started up again.

10 April 2025

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I liked this so much, I'd want to give it more than "just" 10/10!!!

Seriously, there are times when you watch something so tremendously satisfying, that you kinda feel bad for not being able to rate it more than "just" the top grade, and it is precisely the case with this fabulous "River, Nagarenaide yo"!
Hard to explain why it hit me so much without giving anything away (and that'd be a pity 'cause it would deprive you of the pleasure of finding out by yourselves!), I'll just say this: the premise is as interesting as they come; the way they actually made it work was nothing short of a serious stroke of genius; the technical difficulties I can only imagine but must have been something indeed, chapeau for the way they brilliantly overcame them; the cast did *marvelously*, with a special mention for the amazing, lovely, gorgeous (I could go on and on!) Fujitani Riko; the setting is simply F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S; the "packaging" absolutely top-notch (I normally am not really a fan of hand-held cameras, but there was no other way to make this work!).
What are you waiting for? Go watch this *now*! You'll thank me later! ^____-
10/10 and instant top10 of all times, as far as I'm concerned!

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