If you’re not familiar with Japanese theatrical troupe Europe Kikaku, they are the talent behind 2021’s lo-fi sci-fi comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and 2023’s lo-fi sci-fi rom-com River. Both directed by Junta Yamaguchi and written by Makoto Ueda, these films delight as much due to the performances from their respective casts as they do for the inspired ways they execute their high-concept ideas through far more financially constrained budgets than your regular Hollywood releases. Their latest project, River, is set for a physical release via distributor Third Window Films, and it brings with it 80 minutes of behind-the-scenes information via two included bonus materials. Even better: it’s region-free! If you missed River in its festival circuit or theatrical window, this is one you should immediately snag if only for the charming execution of a lovely romantic tale amid time-looped hijinks.
If you’d like to learn about River in a spoiler-free capacity, head over to the initial Fantasia International Film Festival 2023 spoiler-free review. Moving forward, time will not reset to avoid digging into the details.
Actor Riko Fujitani on the set of Junta Yamaguchi’s RIVER. Photo courtesy of Third Window Films.
In the small and quiet town of Kibune, Kyoto, resides the Fujiya Inn, whose staff are ready and capable of helping you with whatever you need. On one ordinary day, for some seemingly inexplicable reason, time resets itself. What first seems like déjà vu is quickly recognized by staff and guests alike as a time loop that restarts after two minutes. After several repeats, all within the loop first find delight and then worry and then panic as there’s not really enough time to do anything in two minutes and yet it can feel like living a lifetime. Can they figure out a way to restart time or are they doomed to keep looping forever?
L-R: Yuki Torigoe as Taku, Riko Fujitani as Mikoto, Manami Honjomanami Honjo as Kimi, Munenori Nagano as Clerk, Haruki Nakagawa as Sugiyama, Yoshimasa Kondo as Obata, Masashi Suwa as Nomiya, Takashi Sumita as Head Chef, Gota Ishida as Kusumi, and Yoshifumi Sakai as Eiji in RIVER. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
In my initial review of River, I wondered if the inconsistency in the weather surrounding Fujiya was meaningful to the script or merely a by-product of on-location shooting. Thanks to the bonus features, specifically the interview with Yamaguchi, we now know that it’s a bit of both. In the interview, Yamaguchi describes Beyond as a film regarding logic — it’s technically designed and executed, the story is more about what makes sense. For River, however, the film is more about emotion and the environment reflects what’s going within the central character, Mikoto (played delightfully by Riko Fujitani), so it’s warm and sunny when she’s cheerful and the weather’s more snowy or icy when not. Of course, this goes deeper than the binary as the hilarious sequence where Mikoto is going on several small “dates” with Yuki Torigoe’s Taku (her love interest that’s leaving for France to study their cuisine) is set during the worst part of the snowy/icy portion, thereby suggesting that, while outwardly happy, she’s internally struggling with his departure, as well as the rest of the staff/guests who want to snag her and force her to restart time now that they think she’s the cause of it. Narratively, using the weather this way makes the oddness of the changes more in line with what the story aims to accomplish in terms of conveying Mikoto’s internal regulation/dysregulation. Also, Yamaguchi explains, Japan got hit with a once-in-a-decade snow storm and the location got hammered, making both the shoot difficult and daily rewrites absolutely necessary. In essence, the answer to the question is “both” — a revelation that doesn’t detract from the hilarity or sweetness of the film, but rather causes the audience to look even further at the details given to us in each loop to better understand the themes explored within the film.
Yuki Torigoe as Taku in RIVER. Photo courtesy of Europe Kikaku.
As a home release, it’s important to note the presentation and packaging. In this instance, Third Window Films provided a check disc (non-retail copy) for review, so I am unable to describe the packaging or disc art beyond what is already available on the Third Window Films River webpage. I can confirm that the Blu-ray is region-free and plays without a hitch on my Panasonic 4K UHD player. While I recognize that this means that my player did up-convert the film a bit for the presentation, I can confirm that the visual presentation is lovely, replicating cinematographer Kazunari Kawagoe’s (Summer Time Machine Blues) work without a single visible issue present. It’s still clear that this was shot on digital, the high-quality sheen a hallmark of digital recording, but one tends to lose themselves in the magic of the loop and naturalness of the setting, unable to be distracted by this. Instead, it just contributes to that lo-fi feeling that made Beyond so charming as well, thereby creating a visual language for a Yamaguchi production. Similarly, there’re no notes to be had for the audio: the dialogue comes through clear and crisp and the mix for the score and natural sounds is delightfully immersive in my 5.1 surround sound.
L-R: Actors Saori, Riko Fujitani, Yoshifumi Sakai, and Takashi Sumita on the set of Junta Yamaguchi’s RIVER. Photo courtesy of Third Window Films.
Regarding the bonus materials, there’re only two things, but they are incredibly insightful. The first is the shorter of the two at nearly 18 minutes and is the best place to start; it’s the interview with Yamaguchi. Structured like a talking head interview where an off-screen interviewer puts questions up on title cards signaling what Yamaguchi will respond to, the director is asked about the script, adapting to weather conditions, how the weather impacted the shoot, upcoming projects, and similarities between Beyond and River. For instance, we learn that each shot in River is described as two minutes and is shot as a long take with the tricky part being how to accomplish this technical task in a space which is not typically used for filmmaking. A bit that’s particularly amusing to this reviewer as a fan of both films is that it’s really interesting to hear Yamaguchi talk about his surprise at the reception of Beyond the Infinite and how, as a result of its success, raising funds was easier than expected for River. This whole interview is rich with information that fans of the film will delight in.
L-R: Actors Yoshimasa Kondo, Munenori Nagan, and Riko Fujitani on the set of Junta Yamaguchi’s RIVER. Photo courtesy of Third Window Films.
In the 63-minute “Making Of” documentary, we’re invited behind the scenes of River. The reason I recommend making this the second stop when exploring the bonus features is that some of the things that Yamaguchi talks about can be more easily noticed in this section because “Making Of” is less of a guided tour and more cinéma vérité in style. Sometimes we get interviews with the cast, both talking head and on-set/location, and sometimes we just observe as the cast and crew work, whether it’s blocking a scene, doing some rewriting of the script, or actually attempting to shoot a loop. One fun piece is when Haruki Nakagawa, who plays Sugiyama, the poor publisher who gets stuck in the bath during the loop, gets into costume before going to his loop starting point. Nakagawa has a great sense of humor about his costume and the situation his character is in. For those with a curiosity for how films like River are pulled off, this “Making Of” documentary offers an incredible close-up look at indie filmmaking.
Riko Fujitani as Mikoto in RIVER. Photo courtesy of Europe Kikaku.
With 2023 wrapped, it’s easy for me to proclaim that River landed on my favorites list in the #19 spot. I’m delighted to report that it holds up on a rewatch because, even when you know how it all plays out, when you know the cause of the looping (those silly Time Agents again!), there’s still plenty to investigate right in front of us in terms of microexpressions from the cast, their reactions to each loop, or even the details in their costumes and make-up as it relates to shifts in actions from one loop to the next. Thus far, with two films under their belt, both Junta Yamaguchi and Makoto Ueda are filmmakers whose names should immediately inspire curiosity when anything they develop gets announced. The concepts are clever, the attention to detail is immaculate, and the members of Europe Kikaku that they cast are undeniably capable of making any ridiculous situation somehow totally reasonable as a thing to deal with. This is what the magic of cinema is all about.
River Special Features:
- Director Junta Yamaguchi interview (17:52)
- Making Of (1:03:24)
- Trailer (1:32)
Available on Blu-ray and DVD February 13th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Third Window Films River webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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