Remember in 2018 when One Cut of the Dead charmed the socks off of audiences all over the world with its one-take zombie film? Well another Japanese project, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, is here to give the audience the same experience, but within the science-fiction realm. Cafe owner Kato (Kazunari Tosa) discovers that the television in his cafe is a viewing portal to the future…two minutes into the future. As he and his friends begin to experiment with the device, the group find themselves caught up in a very dangerous situation.
Films that have been made within the framework of one continuous take are always an intriguing prospect to watch. Stage actors routinely move through the same story in one single forward motion, but in the world of film, it is a rarity. The demand for changing scenery and camera angles often strips away the opportunity to tell a story in such a way. When they are made though, they always manage to capture the attention of the viewer (which begs the question, why can’t there be more of them?) and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is no exception. Director Junta Yamaguchi wastes no time in getting to the crux of his story, the time loop paradox beginning almost immediately. This communication across time plays out via a futuristic television set and Kato’s own computer screen. Beginning innocently enough with his future self explaining what is happening, and present Kato going to explore the anomaly for himself (before then becoming future Kato to a past Kato), the film quickly escalates into Kato and his friends running experiments as they try to see how far they can push the window into the future.
If the timeline sounds complicated, it is because it is, and although you won’t quite need a degree in theoretical physics to decipher the unfolding events, there may be the occasional head scratching moment. Following all of the musings and theories can get tricky, but it’s the ever shifting perspectives, as Kato and company transition from present, to future, and to past, that really frazzles the mind. Just the endeavour of creating the through-line for the narrative must have taken an age, but to then couple that with the one-take format is just sheer (and slightly mad) genius. The camera is the viewer’s guide through the film and features the same fluid, dance-like camerwork that we saw in One Cut of the Dead. One can only imagine how meticulously this had to be choreographed, especially with a cast who are constantly moving locations. It’s not just the movement of the camera that is worthy of praise though, the set-ups and angles also generate some really special images. A sequence involving a seemingly infinite feed of televisions captured on one screen is a highlight, but there are so many little shots here and there that really sell the film as being technically more than just a gimmick.
At only seventy minutes long, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is super short, though by featuring the repetition of scenes as the characters experience sequences at all stages along the timeline, it gives the distorted sense that the film is longer. Usually a film feeling greater than its duration is a bad thing, but here it works, giving the viewer the sensation of being satisfied without feeling bloated. As infectiously entertaining as One Cut of the Dead, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is bright and bouncy, drawing parallels with the work of Michel Gondry. A light-hearted sci-fi romp, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is what the world needs right now.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
Summary
Films that play out as one take are always impressive and this is no exception. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes might actually be one of the best types of these films thanks to the complexity of the story it is trying to convey.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2021.
