Penalty Loop

I'd had the chance to catch Shinji Araki's Penalty Loop [Penaruti Rupu] at some nearby film festivals before, but as I'm not the biggest fan of time loop films, I always found something more appealing to watch. When the film finally received a home release, I jumped on it, and I'm glad I did. Araki found a great way to circumvent my issues with the genre, and he did it in a very stylish and subdued way. While this may actually alienate fans of the niche, I think this was exactly the kind of refresh the time loop genre was waiting for.

Time loop films got a bit of a boost recently, when Junta Yamaguchi got himself involved with Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and River. Fun takes, for sure, but not quite what I was looking for. What tends to bother me is that these films have their leads honing in on the perfect loop scenario to escape their plight. It doesn't just make these films repetitive, but also predictable, and that's not a good combination in my book. Penalty Loop turns things on their head by starting with the perfect loop, then having everything spin out of control.

It's tough talking about the themes of the film without spoiling too much, but I think it's okay to acknowledge Penalty Loop deals with the loss of a lost one, the feelings of revenge that fester when there is a clear culprit and the aftermath of said revenge. I felt the film offers a nice balance between the dramatic angle and the genre elements, providing the necessary depth without needing to sacrifice the entertainment value. It's a precarious balance that heavily relies on personal preference, but I believe Araki found a nice compromise between the two.

After a lazy day, Jun is happy to see his girlfriend in the evening. But when the bell rings, it's the police standing on his doorstep. They tell him his girlfriend has been murdered, and they ask him to come and identify the body. The next day, Jun wakes up with a plan to take revenge on her killer. His plan is meticulous, and everything goes according to plan. Jun dumps the body in the river, but when he wakes up the next day, he finds himself in a time loop. Somewhat stunned, he goes out again to take his revenge, but each consecutive attempt proves to be more difficult.

The cinematography is rather dry, but deliberately so. The camera work is subdued but polished, the framing is precise and evocative, the colors are rather cold in tone (lots of blues and greys) with the occasional splashes of color in between. And when there is color, it's mostly coming from artificial light sources. It's not the most visually intense film, but there's clear intent in the way things are visualized, and it adds to the somewhat weird and uncomfortable atmosphere Penalty Loop is chasing. But the cinematography is only half of the story here.

The score is also an integral part of the experience, and it perfectly aligns with the visuals. The music isn't too in your face, and it is used sparingly, but it has impact whenever it pops up. Even more so than the visual cues, it helps to establish a mysterious, unusual vibe that draws the audience in. It's a great example of how you can accomplish a lot with relatively little, as long as you make sure that all the elements align and everything is used with purpose. There's no excess or filler here, which makes the styling both refined and efficient. An example for many others.

Ryuya Wakaba is a strong lead, managing his emotions with care, slowly growing more and more bewildered as he gets caught up in the time loop. And Yusuke Iseya is a superb adversary, matching Wakaba's vibe as, he too, slowly catches onto their predicament. Their performances are restrained and somewhat enigmatic, but fans of Japanese cinema should be able to deal with that. The secondary cast is solid too, with Rio Yamashita leaving a good impression, but none of them have enough screen time to make a strong mark. Penalty Loop is all about its central duo.

I don't think my taste in films hasn't changed that much these past two decades, but one thing I have come to appreciate are films that don't follow predictable narratives. The more films you watch, the easier it becomes to foretell where a film will end up. To see a film actively trying to prevent that is a delight, and Araki did a great job, especially within a niche that is prone to falling victim to predictability. And it's not even that the ending is all that spectacular or surprising, it's merely the fact that halfway through the film, it was still a big unknown.

Araki showed himself a very capable director here. Penalty Loop isn't the future of cinema, but it's an extremely balanced and well-executed film, without obvious weaknesses, that expertly blends a dramatic narrative with more entertaining genre cues. The only problem is a familiar one, and that's availability. There is still time for the film to be picked up internationally, and Araki deserves the recognition, but as with most of these films, distribution is a bit of a lottery, so don't miss out on the chance to watch this if the opportunity presents itself.