Coffee-shop owner Kato (Kazunari Tosa) discovers a bizarre property of the linked cameras between his shop and his room upstairs. The two-minute delay on the camera allows his future self to converse with his past self, a second version of Kato appearing on the screen in his room to tell him that he needs to come to the shop and relay this same information to his own past self. The confusion only gets worse when Kato’s friends set up the two screens facing one another, creating a Droste effect in which they create an infinite time-tunnel stretching into the future and the past. As Kato, his barista Aya (Riko Fujitani), and friends experiment with this technology they gain the unwanted attention of others who want to prevent a time paradox.
“Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” is the directorial debut of Junta Yamaguchi, and what a project to start with. The unique way it tackles time-travel, its uses and paradoxes, is fun, limiting it to a two minutes loop, and mind-bending both in principle and execution. It utilises simple effects, having characters talking to themselves on a screen, but done so seemlessly and with increasing complexity that it is a marvel to watch. The film is based on a short by writer Makoto Ueda called “Howling”, which features the same Droste complex in which the time-travelling creates a infinitely reflecting tunnel stretching into the past and future. “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” expands on this by introducing a cast of characters and a love-interest in the shape of neighbour Megumi (Aki Asakura), a chaotic mix that further complicates the situation. The film’s concept is unique enough to carry it, sprinkling enough ideas (using the time travel for personal gain, time-paradoxes, prophecy, and pranks) to keep it fresh throughout its 70 minute run time. The film’s technical brilliance makes it feel almost trapped in its own concept at times, with the characters unable to move away from the cafe set and the two-minute delay limiting what can be achieved. However, the film’s quirky, lighthearted atmosphere is well-served by this small-scale, low budget approach. Director Yamaguchi’s handheld camerawork and long takes brings us inside this world, further highlighting the technical achievement of the past and future recordings playing out alongside the ‘present’ action.
In its final scene between Kato and Megumi, the film delivers a simple yet effective message. People are often constrained by both the past and the future, with anxiety about both trapping them in a present that seems to hold no potential. The film shows this perfectly with characters feeling obliged to do exactly what their future self has already done. Kato’s discussion of Nostradamus and the Mayan prophecies of apocalypse also speak to the anxiety some feel regarding the future. In a life that is inevitably going to end it can be hard to keep moving forward. The idea of predestination features heavily in the film, with a fantastic joke revolving around Kato’s future self encouraging him to invite Megumi to his upcoming live guitar performance. “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” questions the value of the past and future to humans, again suggesting that we are only able to live in the present and shouldn’t be swayed by what has already happened or what we believe will happen. As with most time-travel films it is packed with plot-holes and paradoxes, but moves along from one idea to the next with wit and charm creating an enjoyably one-of-a-kind comedy.
