MIFF 2026 - Yesterday Island Review: Aussie Comedy Proves That The Time Loop Isn’t Played Out
Images courtesy of Screen Inc.
The time loop narrative device, made famous by Groundhog Day in 1993, has ironically been reinvented over and over for almost every genre. We’ve had Happy Death Day for horror, Palm Springs for romcoms, and Edge of Tomorrow for sci-fi. So, is there still a way to make this somewhat tired trope fresh and original again? Yesterday Island, a little Australian indie dark comedy, proves that there certainly is.
Amos (Ivan Aristeguieta), a failed writer, arrives on a remote island after receiving a midnight phone call from his old friend Dusty (Francis Greenslade). Dusty has asked Amos to stand in and mind his research station while he goes away for the night. However, the boat to leave the island doesn’t return the next day like Dusty promised. As time passes and strange things begin to reoccur at the same time every day (such as board game invites or birds flying into the window), Amos realises he is trapped on the island and reliving Friday the 12th of February over and over again. After discovering the only way to leave is to get somebody else to replace him, he calls up his ex-wife Gemma (Florence Noble), but her arrival only brings more complications.
From the get-go, Yesterday Island intrigues with its quirky tone and subantarctic setting. With opening credits that list the specific roles of each actor to a Wes Anderson-esque production design, viewers will instantly be drawn in by the film’s unique creative choices. It is lucky then that the film’s humour and script match this visual playfulness. The comedy is wry and sharp, and the characters–and their relationships–are thoughtfully developed. Once Gemma arrives on the island, Amos is faced with an ethical dilemma, which then passes onto Gemma and snowballs into something even more morally complex. It will certainly have audiences uncomfortably (but also maybe delightfully) discussing who they would sacrifice in their own lives if they were in the same situation. The film succeeds in keeping its time loop element innovative and engaging by connecting it and its mechanics to a particular place, as well as having multiple people involved. The absurdist comedy introduced at the start of the film also plays out exceptionally well throughout, with fun editing choices such as having time looped opening credits that play every time somebody new arrives on the island.
One could nitpick at the logistics and plot holes of Yesterday Island’s time loop scenario, but the film’s approach to the concept never feels logistically incoherent enough to be distracting. It would also take all the fun out of what is an extremely surprising and impressive film that proves you don’t need a massive budget to make something highly entertaining.
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Yesterday Island is screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival on Saturday the 22nd of August. For tickets and more info, click here.