“Killing me again today?”
Last year’s Fantasia experience was perhaps not my best. My father died before the start of the festival, causing me to miss out on many of the films I had lined up to review. When I was able to return to cover the latter half, I found myself unable to string two sentences together, let alone an entire review. At the risk, of getting too personal, it was an understandably torturous time that, like many who have experienced it, I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover from. While this year’s festival has been understandably better, I cannot help but think how ending Fantasia 2024 with Penalty Loop is a somewhat poignant act, bringing me full circle in my personal life for one of the best film experiences I’ve ever had at any Fantasia.
In Penalty Loop, Jun (Ryuya Wakaba) is struggling to cope with the murder of his girlfriend (Malyka Ali). After identifying her killer as Mizoguchi (Yusuke Iseya), Jun succeeds in murdering him one night with no witnesses around. However, he awakes the next day to discover that it’s the very same day he’s just lived through, forcing him to kill Mizoguchi again and again as he finds himself continuously reliving the same day with the exact same thirst for vengeance.
Penalty Loop does right by its premise and manages to keep things interesting by capturing the same daily events Jun is experiencing in different and unique ways. The shot of a bowl being spilled and windshield wipers going are cues that show up again and again, but also feel like they’re happening for the first time. This also allows for some great character moments on Jun’s behalf as his reactions and feelings change every time the same day rolls around again. Eventually, Penalty Loop takes a turn into cat-and-mouse territory once Mizoguchi realizes Jun is waking up every day only to kill him again. This opens the film to many narrative possibilities, which writer/director Shinji Araki is game to try. There’s some dark comedy that shows up, especially in seeing Jun become annoyed and frustrated at repeatedly having to kill Mizoguchi and find new ways to get rid of the body. But there are also real human moments, including several that are plucked right from the rom-com world with the two eventually forming a bond over a bowling session and even a lakeside boat ride.
At the heart of Penalty Loop’s fantastic premise is a profound meditation on grief and rage. We witness the latter emotion take hold of Jun instantly as he proceeds to take out Mizoguchi as a way to secure the closure he so desperately seeks. When Jun realizes he must live the day over again and continue to kill Mizoguchi daily, a madness brought on by the idea that this is his eternal fate washes over him. Once the realization sets in, we see Jun develop a fearlessness that only grows every time he murders his girlfriend’s killer. However, the beauty of Jun’s journey is that each reliving of the same day becomes a way for him to process his loss without him necessarily realizing it. It’s a process that’s shared by Mizoguchi, who eventually accepts his own destiny by allowing himself to be killed by Jun. However, when fate presents a chance to change the event that brought the two men into each other’s lives to begin with, Penalty Loop finds itself at its most emotional and most human.
Wakaba gives one of the most heartbreaking performances of the year in this film. Rather than do traditional grief, the actor’s illustration of the pain that comes with unexpected loss comes across as incredibly authentic and incredibly nuanced. Iseya makes for a stellar scene partner, giving humanity to a character most would write off as a one-dimensional villain. Although Penalty Loop is mainly a two-hander, Ali adds real poetry to the proceedings, helping us to understand the depths of Jun’s anguish in her incredibly moving scenes.
No one can accuse Penalty Loop of not taking advantage of its narrative setup and building on it in such an innovative way that shows the creativity and fun to be had with a premise such as this. It’s no wonder that the film has taken home prizes for both editing and original music at this year’s festival. With an array of surprisingly cathartic moments that hit home to anyone who has ever lost someone unexpectedly, I cannot wait for the rest of the world to experience this emotional, entertaining work. I’ve done a lot of healing work to get through many months since the last Fantasia Fest (including reading some Joan Didion) and I’m so thankful that a year later, I’m in the place I needed to be for this incredibly special film to find me.
