Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is one of the most inventive time-travel films I’ve seen recently and it does so by doing a lot with really just a little, and by utilizing its charming, comical cast.
It’s a seemingly normal day until cafe owner Kato (Kazunari Tosa) discovers his TV (coined the “time TV”) can view two minutes into the future. He appears in the frame himself, providing the location of his missing guitar pick as proof. The other portal—we’ll say—is downstairs in the cafe. After he discovers this, his employee Megumi (Aki Asakura) soon does as well, which begins the domino effect of more friends coming to witness this occurrence and to try it out. Lottery? Romantic endeavors? The group considers what exactly they can do with this strange view into the future.
Eventually, as with most films that bend time, the consequences start to come to fruition, and our group of friends find out that they’re in over their heads. There are lots of theories and more discoveries when they realize that if they mirror the two TV’s they can look further than two minutes ahead, but should they? Soon they are combatting gangsters and paradoxes, and begin to question if they should be doing this. While some of the directions the film goes from there may seem ludicrous (but really, what isn’t here?) it always maintains a level of lightheartedness that makes it easy to take anything that comes.
High concept and high energy; it’s nearly impossible not to feel the joy radiating off the screen.
Delightfully Odd
Despite seeing some sequences, essentially, more than once, the film never drags. At a very slim 70 minutes, it’s just the right length to keep you engaged. It flows briskly, with near consistent quirky chatter and constant movement. The deadpan humor and clever storytelling make for an environment steeped in ingenuity. The decision to take us through the steps, repeating moments from what we see on the screen and then witnessing it in person as they recreate it in the future, is ingenious. The concept at play here’s bounces between wildly absurd and delightfully
The movie was filmed using an iPhone and is presented as a single take. It’s an inspirational idea that speaks to what you can do if you have the drive and creativity to make something fresh. The diligence needed to pull something like this off is truly impressive. It moves seamlessly in a way that makes you feel like you’re another one of Kato’s friends, participating in the discovery and experiments. The script also gives us insight into each of these character’s personalities as they each react differently to the situations that arise.
This film is proof that you can still bring something unique to the time-loop subgenre, and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes manages to do so with a stroke of subtle brilliance.
Conclusion: Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
Energetic and creative, no matter how you quantify it, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a whole lot of fun. The film really etched a smile on my face, and it was the perfect end to my Fantasia 2021 experience.
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