Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (2021)
Hello me, meet the other me! When I first came across this film, I saw it described as being like COHERENCE only with time travel. That alone was enough to sell me since I will watch anything that has to do with time travel and if it resembles one of my favorite sci-fi films of the past decade or so, even better. Not only that, a lot of this film is shot so inventively, it’s hard to wipe away the smile when watching these characters interact and experience the joy of discovery which just about any one can relate to. During the first 5 minutes of the film, it becomes apparent that this is also a spiritual successor of films like PRIMER but especially ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, in terms of both the one-take execution and containing a storyline that reimagines a particular genre that has been done to death. However, I’m not nearly as burnt out on time travel as I am with zombies. Junta Yamaguchi’s feature debut BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES which he also shot and edited, is a mindboggling feat of independent cinema that is also one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in quite awhile.
Kato (Kazunari Tosa) is the owner of a small café. His apartment is actually located one story above the café. After a working a full shift, he returns to his flat only to discover that on his computer monitor there is an image of himself. Kato realises that his PC monitor shows what will happen two minutes in the future. What is more interesting, another screen downstairs in his café shows the past of two minutes ago. Kato and his friends place the two mysterious devices opposite each other, which creates an infinite time loop, allowing them to see into the future beyond the limit of two minutes. Obviously, this uncanny situation is going to lead to many hilarious situations, moments of danger as well as wild paradoxes that creates a real sense of chaos especially since everything seems to happen unexpectedly to everyone involved.
While other recent time travel movies have been bogged down by bloated casts, outrageous budgets and convoluted, globe-spanning plots that work together to ensure the audience is completely lost, BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES is only complex where it needs to be and simple everywhere else. We know who the characters are, what they’re attempting to accomplish both immediately and in the long-run, and where they are. These may sound obvious, but it’s those firm fundamentals that allow the film to get crazy without losing the audience or tripping over itself. It’s a remarkable feat that in a film with this many brain-bending moments, the only part that really strains credulity is the length of the power cables of the two screens that drive the plot. I kept wondering how they made that work outside of likely making sure very long extension cords were included in the budget.
Because of the continuous take (complete with organizational gymnastics of which are no small feat of imaginatie engineering), the passage of diegetic time in this film is equivalent to the passage of both real time and “reel” time. The film thus permits the viewer to experience the shock of being in two interacting timelines through the unfolding of actual cinematic time, likening the projection of a film to time travel itself. It reminds me of when I was told in Astronomy class that every time we look up at the stars, we are experiencing a form of time travel since we are looking back in time. In the present time in the universe, those stars may have in fact died. As you look up at the night sky, you aren’t just looking back in time at one point in the past, you’re looking at hundreds of different points in the past. That’s wild to consider and this film playfully examines the idea of watching film as its own form of losing yourself in some kind of cosmic energy. But what it comes down to is that you don’t even need to ponder the deeper existential themes, you can be in the moment with these characters and simply be entertained for all 70 minutes.
The flexibility of shooting with only a phone and a single boom mic helped out immensely, as must have the intentionally caricaturist broadness of the performances which possess a manic energy that some might find challenging but I found to be infectious. It’s a quirky little concept, a method of television time travel that can reveal only a miniscule elapse. But by establishing such a whimsical tone from its very conceit, TWO MINUTES denies the seriousness of other time travel films like INTERSTELLAR and the intellectual PRIMER to play with a thoroughly relatable reaction to such newfound power. One could even see this being a roller-coaster of a live stage play (a sci-fi NOISES OFF of sorts) if someone were brave enough to attempt it. In the end, Junta Yamaguchi has made a remarkable debut that was in my top 15 of 2021 for a reason: not only was I completely on board with it on a conceptual level, I had such a joyful experience that I can only hope others will seek this out immediately during such a stressful time. Lo-fi escapist entertainment doesn’t get much better than this.
Available to stream as of 02/04/22:
https://thirdwindowfilms.com/films/beyond-the-infinite-two-minutes
