The Review Was Originally Published as Part of My Coverage of Fantasia 2021
A cafe owner discovers he has the ability to communicate with himself two minutes into the future in Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. Kato (Kazunori Tosa) is the owner of a cafe, who arrives home at his upstairs apartment to discover a version of himself communicating from the cafe's computer monitor two minutes into the future. As Kato familiarizes himself with this temporal communication, more friends enter the cafe and decide to find a way to manipulate the “Time TV” and see further ahead into the future. However, these friends soon discover that playing with time can soon have consequences.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a science fiction comedy developed by the Europe Kikaku theatre group, under the direction of first-time filmmaker Junta Yamaguchi. Presented as a single continuous take, the plot of the film features much repetition as we see “Time TV” conversations take place in both the past and future. At the suggestion of Ozawa (Yoshifumi Sakai), the friends place the two monitors facing each other, creating an infinite “Droste effect” that allows the group to see further into the future.
For a film with a relatively simple premise and execution, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes ends up being an incredibly fun watch. I can only imagine how difficult a film this was to shoot and edit, as we eventually reach the point where we see future events that don't occur in the present for at least 20 minutes or more. As fun as it is, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes also has a message that perhaps it's best to not know too much about the future since it could end up being too much of an influence on your life.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is streaming as part of the virtual 2021 Reel Asian Film Festival
Related Links
- Fantasia 2018: Mega Time Squad
- TADFF14: Predestination
- TADFF14: Time Lapse
- Reel Asian 2018: One Cut of the Dead
- 30 Minutes or Less
