Cafe owner Kato returns home to find that his television is displaying himself two minutes later back in the cafe. Future Kato tells present Kato where the guitar pick he’s looking for is, and then tells him to go downstairs to tell this to his past self. Thus starts Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020), a time travel story that is both infinitely clever and equally meticulous in its execution. Now, you might be wondering, how exactly did this future version of Kato first get there? Yet, that’s not what the movie is interested in – it’s not so much interested in the mechanics of time travel as it is the consequences of it.
After we’re thrust right into this confusing world, Kato’s friends start coming over to investigate this strange phenomenon. It’s here that Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes reveals itself to be one of the funniest films of the 2020s. Every time a new mechanic of the time traveling is revealed, it’s used to great effect to create a hilarious punchline, all culminating in a finale that ties everything together to form an ingenious, riotous sequence that showcases an unparalleled sense of creativity from director Junta Yamaguchi.
The time travel is in increments of two minutes – the film doesn’t just say that, every single scene is timed to get this correct to the second. Everything from the script to the number of steps the actors take is determined by the script to get this level of precision and attention to detail that isn’t often seen in filmmaking. This is made all the more impressive by the one cut nature of the film, planting this in the “nagamawashi” subgenre popularized by 2017 film One Cut of the Dead – basically one shot, low budget Japanese films. Now, obviously, the film isn’t truly one take (it’s shot in 10 minute increments), but it’s edited so well that the cuts are truly imperceptible. Plus, the movie was made under $20,000! To create a film this special with so little is an incredible feat, and at just 71 minutes long, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not watching Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes in the near future.
I recently rewatched this wonderful film to show it to my extra wonderful bestie. As soon as it started, everything else melted away as my room filled with the warm glow of the projector light and our soft laughter. I wish I could stay in this short moment forever, but time cruelly keeps marching on. But, as films like Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes remind me, it’s not worth it to stress about the future when the present is right here, right now, with all the amazing people you get to revel in it with. In that moment, I was fully, wholly content being with her, and it’s these kinds of rare, perfect moments where everything somehow manages to be right in the universe for a few minutes that make life truly feel infinite.