Shot on an iPhone in a minimal amount of takes director Junta Yamaguchi alongside writer Makoto Ueda may have come up with the most original film of 2021. The film is part Sci-Fi, a good helping of acute time travel, a whole bunch of comedy plus a romance wrapped up in a tight 70 minute run time. Kato (Kazunori Tosa) runs a local cafe with his loyal employee Aya (Riko Fujitani) by his side looking to pump up her boss who has little joy outside of his working hours. Kato has a crush on Megumi (Aki Asakura) who works next door but his shyness prevents him from asking her out. Things get significantly more exciting when he goes up the two flights to his flat after the workday to find himself dressed identically talking back to him through his computer monitor.
After a quick demonstration and orientation, Kato realizes that his monitor in his flat is two minutes in the past and the one downstairs in the Cafe can see two minutes into the past. Future Kato downstairs tells past Kato to come downstairs where the demonstration is performed again and the loop begins. Soon Aya is in on it as are Kato's two friends Ozawa (Yoshifumi Sakai) Komiya (Gota Ishida), and Tanabe (Masahi Suwa). They all begin to circle from downstairs to upstairs planting items in the future for their past selves to find. The group dubs the process Time T.V. but begins to abuse the purity with Kato first telling his past self that asking out Megumi went well. Then venturing out to return with some found money whose serious owners soon appear looking for the funds.
The concept in Mako Ueda's script is simple on the surface yet complicated if you try and do the math. The factors increase when Ozawa hypothesizes that if you stack monitors in a row 2 minutes become 4 then 8 and so on. But the real purpose of the project is to extract as much comedic moments as possible from the chaotic situation. Megumi is also drawn into the plot right at the point when the bad guys arrive looking for their money. The excitement brings Kato and her together giving them a chance to talk and get to know each other better and see that they have common interests.
Beyond Infinite Two Minutes is a time travel film on a micro-budget level. The events unfold help to get Kato out of a state of spinning his wheels and grasp the need of moving forward. Megumi is the opposite stuck on a past relationship which is the reason why she turned Kato down in the first place. The ultimate message here is not to get too far ahead or stuck in the past but focus on the present.
**** Out of 4.
Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes | Junta Yamaguchi | Japan | 2021 | 70 Minutes.
Tags: Cafe, T.V. Monitor, Time Travel, Lost Money, VCR Player, Guitar Pick, Paiste Cymbal, Time and Space Bureau, Wormhole disturbance, Reversed Causality, Droste Cocoa Powder. Fujiko F. Fujio
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