Introduction

One successful screening at a reputable film festival has the ability to launch the career of young directors. This year, it might very well be the turn of Ryo Takebayashi to bask in the international highlights. With his time-loop comedy Mondays: See You This Weekend!, he does not only show his directorial skill, but proves that he knows a bit of writing an effective screenplay (General-note 1).

Review

One day, after waking up at her desk and resuming her work, Ms. Yoshikawa (Wan Marui) is suddenly approached by two of her colleagues, Murata (Yūgo Mikawa) and Endo (Kōki Osamura), who tell her that they seem to be stuck within a time-loop. At first, she brushes them off, but the evidence her colleagues present slowly convinces her that they are, in fact, repeating the same week over again. The same colleagues assume the time-loop is caused by the manager Nagahisa (Makita Sports) and his cursed green diamond bracelet – a bracelet that grants the wearer his wish, but not without a sacrifice. Yet, how can they break the time-loop?

Mondays: See You This Weekend! utilizes the narrative dynamic or concept of the time-loop to light-heartedly critique the repetitiveness of labour, the robotification of the subject due to the endless boring mundane tasks he/she is subjected to, and the lack of motivation among employees and employers because the pressure they feel to do overwork. The continued repetition of the same week is, moreover, utilized to playfully highlight the lack of efficiency that marks Japan’s work culture.

The lack of motivation within the company walls is beautifully expressed by Nagahisa, the manager. While he tries to motivate his employees – Everyone, let’s do our best. Keep up the good work, the last signifier he utters in his ignored motivational speech is directed at no one other than himself. The cheers he wishes to hear from his employees are aimed at filling the lack of desire/motivation he himself feels.  

 

The emphasis on Nagahisa invites the spectator to believe that the time-loop is caused by his playfully uttered statement that he does not want to be 50 years old. The time-loop realizes his wish – his birthday will never come, but dooms all his employees to repeat the same demands and tasks over and over again. How can they convince Nagahisa to part ways with the bracelet and break the time-loop? While Endo and Murata have an elaborate plan ready, many unforeseen problems and conflicts arise (Narra-note 1). And while the mere destruction of the bracelet be enough to restore the flow of time?  

Yet, while the narrative evokes the de-subjectifying effects work can have, Takebayashi’s ultimate message is unrelated to these corporate realities. Eventually, due to twists the narrative takes, Mondays: See You This Weekend! reveals itself to be a touching story that explores the importance of giving space to the dream of others. Rather than chasing one’s own desire blindly in disregard of others – a wild chase that destroys social bonds, Takebayashi celebrates cooperation between subjects to support each other’s dreams, each other’s particular pleasure.  

The composition of Mondays: See You This Weekend! stands out due to its pleasant energy and rich dynamism. The rhythm that results from Takebayashi’s fluid mix of a variety of shots and his effective cutting does not only engage the spectator – invites him, at the visual level, into the narrative, but also heightens the impact of the many comical moments (Cine-note 1). The musical accompaniment, and especially those pieces playfully echoing the ticking of a clock, enhance the spirited nature of the composition. In some cases, Takebayashi even lets the beats of the music coincide with a cut as such.

The repetition of static and  dynamic imagery visually emphasize the time-loop our employees are imprisoned in and become, by gaining a sense of predictability, comical in their own way – moments of visual comedy. The repetition of certain static moments – i.e. the shots of the clock, explicitly compartmentalizes the story, giving Mondays: See You This Weekend! a sort of episodical narrative structure.

What makes the comedy of repetition more effective is the contrast that arises between those who do not realize time has them in their grasp – and thus repeat the same signifiers and acts over and over again, and those who, because they realize the predicament they are in, start acting differently.

Mondays: See You This Weekend! might not reach the heights of other time-loop comedies, like Summer Time Machine Blues (2005) and Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (2022), but it, nevertheless, offers a highly enjoyable light-hearted experience. Yet, what ultimately makes Takebayashi’s narrative so fun is not the effective exploitation of the time-loop dynamic, but how the narrative ends with a touching celebration of the joys of cooperation.    

Notes

General-note 1: The story was penned down by Take C but the screen play was written by Ryo Takebayashi and Saeri Natsuo.

Narra-note 1: One of the conflicts is between Yoshikawa, who is set to gain a lot by perfecting the repeating week, against her colleagues who wants to resolve the time-loop as soon as possible, at whatever cost.

Cine-note 1: All kinds of dynamic shots are present: tracking shots, fluid spatial shots, shaky framed shots, zoom-in movements, … etc.