River Review: A Laugh-Out-Loud Time Loop Workplace Comedy [Fantasia Fest 2023]

Japanese filmmaker Junta Yamaguchi follows his buzzy debut "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes" with another winning time-loop comedy, the more succinctly titled "River." Yamaguchi chooses Kyoto's picturesque Fujiya Inn as his backdrop, thriving off the meditative aesthetics of a rushing river that soothingly gurgles through a serene hotel. It's so calming and comforting, much like Yamaguchi's hilarious sci-fi predicament where time keeps repeating on a two-minute cycle. There are parallels between "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes" and "River," but Yamaguchi's sophomore effort is an upgrade in every conceivable measure. "River" is a triumphant indie comedy that'll have you laughing out loud from start to finish — easily one of the funniest films I've seen this year (at minimum).

The story follows both guests and staff of Fujiya, sticking on waitress Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) as our focal protagonist. Mikoto goes to check stock on their beer supply, stopping at the ​​Kibune River for a quick prayer. After returning to her duties, thinking nothing of her actions, she suddenly finds herself transported back to the river in her same prayer position. It happens again. Once more. Mikoto and her colleagues deduce that they're "looping" every two minutes, fully conscious of past rewinds, but unable to break the continuous restarts.

Yamaguchi doesn't overcomplicate the scenario, opting for a breezy, heavily comedic tone that flows without impediments. There's never a desire to overexplain the paradoxical time-bending or existential crisis of it all. Mikoto immediately starts thinking of the guests, and Fujiya keeps running as a functional inn. There's a zaniness that Yamaguchi favors over something darker and more terrifying, and it's so especially refreshing. Characters make the best of their time loops — a film with perpetual momentum that never erases smiles from faces.

The Japanese ensemble has a blast portraying unwitting time travelers trying to figure out why their lives are skipping backward like a broken record. Mikoto and another waitress, Chino (Saori), are standouts as they explain to two hot-pot munching visitors why their rice is never ending, as is a stressed-and-stumped serial novelist who reacts with particular glee when realizing his deadline is now nonsense. "River" enjoys being a wacky sitcom(ish) crowd-pleaser about an implausible scenario that refuses to directly address the gravity of events, which always works for the better. Time itself could be folding in on the universe, and all one chef can think about is what happens when he defecates before rewinding — you know, the real issues.

A carefree attitude and coolness under pressure make "River" an exceptional treasure. Makoto Ueda's screenplay has the purest heart, able to deliver themes about feeling stuck in place versus not fearing the future without heaping the formidable weight of universal fragility upon viewers. There are times when "River" can feel like an episode of CW's "Legends of Tomorrow" blended with NBC's "Parks and Recreation," not without the slapstick humor of exaggerated Japanese comedy styles. Where some films of this ilk would desire to showcase how human impulses would turn sour when consequences are erased, "River" believes in wholesomeness that warms the soul like hot sake.

Yamaguchi deserves all the credit imaginable because whenever "River" might appear to lose command of its gimmick, something pulls our attention as tight as ever. It's a miraculous little project that showcases the power of storytelling in independent formats. Whatever hiccups may occur in this eightish fly-by comedy are minimal, overshadowed by the unstoppably enjoyable time-loop antics in Fujiya. Yamaguchi ups his game from camera direction that follows characters in long takes to concise narrative delivery, besting "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes" easily. "River" is the mark of a filmmaker who's no one-trick anything — it's a sublime temporal comedy that audiences should not miss.

/Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10