History repeats itself in this ingenious but surprisingly heartfelt sci-fi, which takes the premise of Groundhog Day and fashions from it a poignant statement about life and mortality. Refreshingly for the genre, it focuses on a middle-aged woman — a scientist-slash-physicist, even — whose 55th birthday and final breath will occur within the same week. But though there is an element of resistance to the latter, Omni Loop is unusual in that it isn’t simply about breaking the cycle; Bernardo Britto’s film is about facing the inevitable, gently phasing out the genre elements to reach an understated but emotional climax.
