Imagine being stuck in a time loop, but it's a measly two-minute interval instead of days or even hours. The not-so-pleasant cherry on top is that everyone remembers it. That’s the outlandish, yet vaguely familiar, premise River is built on. The sci-fi comedy is set in a seemingly idyllic Japanese village and updates the typical run-of-the-mill time loop storyline, putting its characters in a bizarre, two-minute cycle of déjà vu. Perhaps what makes this film so clever is the fact that the short loops don’t leave the narrative lacking. The director, Junta Yamaguchi, makes it so that the movie squeezes an incredible amount of humor, heart, and a quality story into every repeat.


Bengali (Bangladesh) ·
English (United States) ·