Time loops are one of my favorite sci-fi subgenres, so I was delighted to see that Japanese director Junta Yamaguchi was following up his inventive 2020 sci-fi comedy “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” with a time-loop movie that takes a similar low-fi approach. I was even more delighted when I first watched Yamaguchi’s “River” earlier this year, marveling at the creativity that he and screenwriter Makoto Ueda bring to such a simple premise.
If you’re a fan of movies like “Palm Springs,” “Happy Death Day” and original time-loop classic “Groundhog Day,” then you’ll find plenty to enjoy in “River.” The loop here is much shorter than in those other movies, at just two minutes long, and the entire cast of characters is caught in it together. That changes up the perspective from the mostly lone loopers that populate the subgenre, and it gives “River” an endearing sense of solidarity as the characters work together to figure out what’s going on.
