River

River (2023) is a Japanese sci-fi comedy you can watch online on iFILM. It comes from director Junta Yamaguchi, the mind behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, and unfolds at the century-old Fujiya inn beside the Kibune river in Kyoto.

Waitress Mikoto steps out to the water, and two minutes later she is back at her post. The clock keeps resetting, again and again. Staff and guests remember every loop and scramble to break it while the tea goes cold and dinner is served for the tenth time. Yamaguchi shoots it in long, near-seamless takes, which makes the spiraling chaos even funnier. At 86 minutes it is a nimble little puzzle, made for anyone who likes their time-travel built on a clever idea rather than big effects.