How much do you need to get revenge? How will you know you had enough and it is time to move on? Is that even possible? These are some of the questions the new film from director Shinji Araki “Penalty Loop” poses to us.
The film was screened last in Fantasia 2024, and I am still reflecting on what I witnessed.
“Penalty Loop” tells the story of Jun, a regular man who after taking a lot of planning and necessary measures, manages to kill the man who murdered his girlfriend. Not only by poisoning him, but also by stabbing him, and without any apparent remorse, he finishes the job by dumping the corpse in the river.
But what should have brought some sort of satisfaction and maybe closure to his grief, seemed to have never happened, as the next morning Jun finds himself waking up again at 6 o’clock on June 6th. Thinking that maybe all was a dream or an OMEN (See what I did there?) Jun executes his plan and takes his revenge, but once more, he wakes up the next morning finding himself living the same day: June 6, starting at 6 O’clock.
Jun tries to get out of this time anomaly by completing his plan again, and again, and again. But the loop keeps repeating itself. To his surprise, Jun learns that the killer he is murdering is becoming aware of what is happening, and is not very pleased.
Will the roles reverse? Is more than one person being punished here? Continue reading
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