User reviews

A wonderfully clever almost Spike Jonze-esque indie film shot on a minuscule budget but with an overabundance of ideas.

A part time musician and cafe owner discovers that his tv is a window to 2 minutes into the future and he starts communicating back and forth between his past, present and future selves, his friends get involved and eventually multiple layers of story start playing parallel simultaneously in different parts of the future, present and past (it's complicated). All this is done with virtually no cuts. There may have been a few hidden ones here and there but even then the amount of planning and mental gymnastics to make this movie work at all, let alone as close to flawless as it is, is a testament to the ingenuity of the entire crew, both in front and behind the camera. I can't emphasize enough how cleverly this was made. When the movie starts and you get the premise you may think (I certainly did) "ok. This is cool but I could probably do that too with a few rehearsals" but then it gets so thoroughly complex and layered I laughed out several times in admiration.

Apart from the behind-the-scenes wizardry the movie never gets bogged down in high concept nonsense, instead it uses its clever SF premise to tell a small, fun and relateable story about this group of friends who happen upon a time-travelling tv.

Beyond the infinite two minutes was pure cinematic joy, I'm glad I got to check it out at this year's Nippon Connection and I'll order the bluray as soon as it becomes available.

'Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (2020)' is an incredibly impressive low-budget science-fiction film about a group of friends who discover that a television and a computer monitor are linked via some sort of temporal anomaly. The monitor displays what the TV will see in two minutes, while the TV displays what the monitor has already seen two minutes ago. The film is, in essence, an examination of the age-old question: what came first, the chicken or the egg? The characters see what they're going to do, yet arguably only do it because they know they must. To them, the future has already happened; they seem to exist on a predestined timeline. The feature often follows its characters as they travel between the TV and the monitor, too. Because of this, the future becomes the past which becomes the present which becomes the past again. As you can see, the central concept is an extremely clever and heady one, and it gets even more complex as the piece progresses (in ways which I won't spoil here). Thankfully, the flick never trips over itself and also remains relatively easy to parse for its entire duration. It's intelligent, but not pretentious. It's all in good fun, too, and only carries the slightest hint of thematic potency. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that it plays out in what appears to be a single seamless take. Judging by the behind-the-scenes footage that plays during the credits (which also reveals that large portions of the picture were shot using a mobile phone), it appears the picture makes use of hidden cuts to achieve this. Nevertheless, it's still really spectacular and certainly must've taken a lot of planning to pull off. The piece is pretty much a choreographed dance in which the players have to interact with pre-recorded versions of themselves, recreating and reacting to the footage that plays out on the two screens that comprise the central temporal link. It's as enjoyable as it is admirable. The flick moves at a solid pace and doesn't feel as though it either outstays its welcome or artificially pads its length. It's entertaining pretty much from the first frame to the last. Despite all of its genuine brilliance, though, the thing is only ever so engaging or enjoyable. That's not to imply that it isn't engaging or enjoyable at all, rather that it only ever reaches a certain level of engagement or enjoyment. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't quite push past the promise of its solid opening movement or go above and beyond when it comes to how compelling it is. It's an odd complaint, I'll admit, and I'm not even sure if I'm conveying it correctly. Basically, I'm now trying to justify my entirely subjective and arguably redundant review score. The movie is technically triumphant, narratively complex and generally entertaining, but it only moves me to the point I feel as though I can rate it 7/10.

Japanese low budget cinema at its best! Normally, low budget American films are absolute trash with few exceptions, but Japanese ones are invariably charming and imaginative and this one's no exception. It's a quirky time travel comedy set in a cafe, where an unusual link to the future spells disaster. Extremely lovable characters, a natural humour throughout and an anything-goes feel make this a thoroughly entertaining little movie.

Or is it go forward and do as you are told? It's kind of tricky ... it also is quite clever to say the least. That does not mean that there are no inconsistencies at all. Quite the opposite ... but having said that, if you buy into the whole idea and suspend your disbelief - you're in for quite the treat.

And if you have some love for independent cinema and movies ... well I don't have to tell you how you'll feel about it! Stay through the credits to see behind the scenes footage of how they shot certain scenes. A fun ride that takes its ... time - no pun intended. And even when you see a scene a second time - it never gets boring. The fun stays with you - a testament to the filmmakers, the idea/script and the actors, who really are transcend the fun they had shooting this (of course they were also tired as we can see in the behind the scenes footage too) ... original, quirky and just plain lovely.

Don't let the rating fool you, this is not a hidden gem, BUT it is decent no-budget film making with a fairly unique concept, and with a better script, could have ecome a cult classic.

Solid concept, okay execution, fun characters, but repetitive and ruined by an ending that blows apart continuity. This movie should have had a much different ending, it had it's problems for sure, like why do the monitors have such long cords? How convenient! But that's not really a plot hole. Also, if you know anything about time travel theories, even from the beginning, this one has huge problems, but they could have been remedied with a solid ending, instead the ending literally makes it worse and throws it's own internal logic out the window. Up until the last 10 minutes I could buy into the premise, but wow, did it just become incredibly stupid in the last 10 minutes, and not in a good way.

Still, if you are used to Japanese or Korean cinema, this is pretty typical fair acting-wise for a comedy, ultra goofy. I liked the characters, I thought that they were fun, and well-developed for an ensemble movie based on a high concept. It definitely plays the concept for laughs, but it actually gets pretty serious at some points, it has some deeper themes about destiny and predetermination, but again, it generally chucks those out the window by the end. It really does become a somewhat disappointing mess by the end, I still enjoyed it, but its sad because it could have been a hell of a lot better. I think for the most part they did a good job with a pretty tricky concept, other than the last 10 minutes. I would love to see this remade with a better script and a much different ending, this could be great, but instead, it is just barely above average.

First off, this looks pretty great for being shot on a iPhone. It's ultimately a cute and amusing little film about time travel and I mean little as in 70 minutes long. It's a bit difficult to get the hang of at first as its a tricky scenario that goes at breakneck speed early on which doesn't help, but it works for the style of the style of the film. This Japanese film make a whopping $450 in theaters! Worldwide! One can understand why though as it's so short, slight and odd. Unfortunately, it gets a little too complicated and a bit tooo silly for its own good near the end and we are left without ever finding out about the fate of some of the principals. The mostly young cast is fun as well and I am clueless as to the age of the director, but I'd bet money it's someone very young.

Kato (Kazunari Tosa) lives above the cafe he owns, a small space in a small life. One evening, he returns home from work to find that his image is on his computer and, even more, he's talking to him! It turns out that Kato-in-the-computer is Kato two minutes into the future, and that the television monitor in the cafe shows the same scene two minutes in the past. Before too long, Kato and several friends are literally playing with time, trying to figure out how to profit from this bizarre form of clairvoyance - before things begin to spin out of control....

This short (70 minutes) film is quite as goofy as the premise suggests, with a very loopy heart to it. Filmed on a smart phone by a first-time group of players and crew, using quite minimal sets, I was laughing within about five minutes of the opening, always a good sign. This year, Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival is mostly online again due to the pandemic, which is a shame - this is exactly the kind of film that our festival-goers embraces with open arms. Having to watch it on a smaller screen at home isn't quite the same, but I'm very pleased to have been able to see it at all - and FantAsia 2021 is off to a good start!

Endearing, fast-paced, and very short Japanese movie about a man who discovers a TV in his cafe that shows images from two minutes in the future. How or why? Doesn't matter. Just go with it.

Some of his friends soon discover it and begin playing around with it, devising ways to look further into the future by pointing the screen that shows the future and the screen that shows that past at each other. Confusing but very fun and low-key time travel shenanigans ensue.

It's made to look like one shot but you can usually tell when they cut. Still, most shots appear to last at least three minutes, and some as long as five or more, so there still would have been an admirable amount of brainpower and coordination required to pull off some of these sequences, especially because multiple screens are involved.

It's the kind of movie that you realise you just need to go with the flow with, and once you do, it becomes a lot of fun. The low budget and restricted setting (it takes place in a cafe and a couple of small apartments on the floors above) don't impact how enjoyable and engaging it is for its short but sweet runtime.

It's hard to complain too much about some of the rough technical aspects (and to be fair, I didn't even realise they shot it on a phone while I was watching), and the acting is good for this kind of movie, but nothing amazing. Still, it's more than worth watching for the premise and creativity found within, and for being a unique and even inspirationally low budget movie with a very high concept.

Easy to recommend, and sure, I know the year is very young, but it's my favourite film I've watched in 2022 so far.

A strange tale of time travel that doesn't try to be serious or explain the implausible science others usually do. The comedy is really well done and the story very character driven. It reminds me much of Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, which is another strange comedy from Japan. I like how here we are clueless along with the characters so we explore the situation along with them. While there is much that doesn't work or is just wrong from a "realism" standpoint but its not meant to be real. Just enjoy being swept along with the situation, finding answers and not finding answers as whatever happens just happens. Its just plain fun so sit back and enjoy the lack of stereotypical characters and events, maybe with a drink of hot chocolate.

This is a movie which adults will enjoy it but it is also suitable for little kids, and it's something rare nowadays because movies are too violent or sad or twisted.

Of course, it helps if you are a science fiction fan.

It is not a masterpiece, and you should lower your expectations, this is not a 10/10 or 9/10 movie. However, you will enjoy it if you know what to expect.

It's funny, clever and sweet. Like an 80's family sci fi movie. Keep in mind that this is a low budget movie, it is filmed in a building.

Director did an excellent job filming how time travel would look like if we can peel into the future 2min intervals. Sequence started off very simple, and gradually added layers and increased complexity, filming everything very smartly. Worth your time if you're interesting in sci-fi and time travel.

This was one of the hardest films to watch and understand, not made easier with subtitles / really thought provoking. Enjoyable, well acted and clever - recommended.

The actual concept is very complicated but the way they tell the story is amazing. I really got entertained. I had no difficulty to follow the concept. Actors and actresses are good too. You need to watch this to understand the droste effect and entertain meantime.

Clever little film. Simple and effective. Refreshing change from big-budget, CGI, Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters.

A computer monitor can see two minutes into the future and due to the direction, enthusiastic cast, it works as an engaging, quirky little tale with a romance at the centre of it.

At one hour 10 minutes, it's short but sweet, but it's nice to watch an original film with out too many pyrotechnics, I'd recommend watching it if you're at a loss what to do for the next hour or so, but would like to see something short and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Watching this movie is like taking an energy pill and you get sucked in to the movie's own contained universe, Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes feels like a triumph despite its humble presentation.

In this movie we follow a small coffee shop owner/guitarist that discovers his computer monitor connected to the tv in his shop is in a self contained time loop that lets him see two minutes into the future. Later when his friends find out about this, time travelling fun ensues!

This movie is made at a breakneck pace, not a single dead minute on it. Which is made possible by the "one cute" technique that doesn't allow for that. The dialogue is snappy, and everything happens fast. It is also very funny. This movie was apparently filmed only with a smartphone (iPhone?) which is even more amazing but also understandable considering all the positions and movements the cameraman had to do during the filming. It almost feels like an acrobatic act unfold due to how precise everything must be.

The actors are great as well, you can clearly see that everyone is having fun making this movie, it has a very happy and infectious tone that you kind of want more of afterwards. Even if the time-travelling paradox thingy feels hard to understand you can still see that the rules are consistent in the film which is the recipe for a movie with time travelling elements. It is also a film that dares to be silly and I love that! Even if the elements of it are simple you still feel it's amazing and filled with moviemaking love.

If there's anything negative about this movie is that perhaps the reactions that the initial characters have can be a bit unbelievable? I understand why they had to write it like that tho so it doesn't really bother me! Either way I had so much fun watching this movie and I can't wait to see more from this director! Please watch this, you won't be disappointed! (It's available on blu-ray)

I've grown exceedingly tired of time travel films because they rarely (if ever) pay attention to continuity, make scientific sense... or they just follow cliche stories that have been done a dozen times before. Yawwwn

However this one was a little different, and included enough satire to make it interesting. I didn't find anything "hilarious" in any of it, but it was fun. The continuity doesn't matter, because no one is taking this film seriously to start with. It's pretty obvious from the outset that this is just a "fun for the fun of it" film.

I found it VERY interesting that they filmed the entire movie using a cell phone. It's not the first time I've seen that done, but definitely the best. I had no idea they were using cell phone video until the credits started rolling and they showed how they'd made the film. I almost gave them an extra star just for the skill shown in the cinematography and editing.

All in all worth watching. Gave it 7 stars for "better than average". They didn't make it excessively long... and they kept the action going from beginning to end, never losing viewer interest.

I was very pleased by the original and authentic acting of the cast.

It is not a movie that tried to copy any western style, but was truly Japanese. I liked the interacting between the people, reactions upon reactions and staying leveled like the Japanese language sounds.

No crazy acting, no overly dramatic scenes.

It is a movie worth watching if you like Japanese culture and movies. Even if you don't like the theme or if there would be some flaws in the movie. It was the play that mostly impressed me.

I have never seen such incredibly bad actors. But you can hardly talk about actors here. It's like fidgeting around in a Punch and Judy show. The dialogues are so stupid and wooden. Nobody talks like that. The idea of the film itself is actually quite funny. But the plot and the behavior of the protagonists is just completely stupid. Really unbearable. We had to turn the movie off after 45 minutes because it was just annoying.... End of the Review. I am forced to write 110 more characters. Now 91 characters. This is stupid... Still stupid. Annoying and redundant. Like the movie I just watched.

The premise is as much a joy as it is a curiosity. Toying with disruptions to time as a plot device is one arduous enough, whether travel, communication, loops, any sort of discrepancy, and is prone to scrutiny for the underlying mechanics. Playing within a very limited setting, with a separation of mere minutes between past, present, or future, is wild and inventive - and risky, for that matter, a leap of faith that adds to the complexity. How does one sustain that central conceit for any length? The answer here, it turns out, is much like that of other fare that dallies with space-time: the ideas themselves very quickly become sufficiently complicated that trying to tease apart the layers of reality is a fool's errand, and it's best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. With a suitably strong narrative, employing the temporal conceit in a meaningful way, the only limits to what can be achieved in such fiction is the human imagination, and I'm happy to say that writer Ueda Makoto and filmmaker Yamaguchi Junta have given us a doozy in 'Beyond the infinite two minutes.' Clocking in at only seventy-one minutes, there is more to dissect here than can occupy any reasonable number of words - and it's so much fun!

That this little feature was successfully shot and edited to give the appearance of one long, continuous take is just a bonus as the story unfolds of two television monitors, one in a cafe and one in an apartment upstairs in the same building, that show scenes existing two minutes apart. The initial bewilderment of the characters shifts to excitement, speculation, and a host of other moods and notions as possibilities flit about in their heads and come to fruition. Add a couple wildcards, additional layers of convolution, and questions and themes of causality, free will, worrying about the future, and living in the moment, and in turn the tiny movie becomes funny, enticing, thought-provoking, low-key thrilling, heartwarming, and all told, highly entertaining and satisfying. We can say that the tale uses the Droste effect as a core plot device, but that only gets one so far as we try to follow the same logic as the characters and the story they inhabit. Suffice to say that Ueda penned a screenplay brimming with marvelous intelligence in its narrative and scene writing, and that it all manages to be so delightfully rich and flavorful speaks equally to his acumen. Just as importantly, it seems evident to me that Ueda and Yamaguchi were completely in sync, for the direction is as tight, light, and nimble as the writing and very ably realizes the tableau with obvious ease and grace.

It's readily clear that 'Beyond the infinite two minutes' was a decidedly independent, low-budget production, and I think that's a good thing; I can't fathom what this would have looked like any other way. The cast and crew get a workout as they make the most out of the filming location, split across a few floors in a building, and the production design is superb. Dressed up with only a smidgen of computer-generated imagery or fabricated props to adjoin the otherwise very pointedly ordinary, mundane appearance, the cafe and select other few spaces we see look very cozy and inviting, a place that I wouldn't mind visiting if I ever found myself in Kyoto. That limited CGI looks fantastic (better than the proliferate instances in, say, most major blockbusters), and Yamaguchi's cinematography and editing are as fluid, impeccable, and pleasing as his direction. Takimoto Koji's music is a nice complement to the proceedings - and not to be counted out, the cast is simply excellent, breathing vibrant life into their characters and the story with welcome energy and personality. I really didn't know what to expect when I sat to watch, and I couldn't be happier with just how good this diminutive picture. Everyone who contributed did a terrific job, and still I find myself dazzled by Ueda's screenplay and Yamaguchi's direction. The runtime elapses all too swiftly, and for as perfectly solid as this is, one can't help but to in some measure wish it were longer just because that would mean there were more of it.

Bounteous skill, care, and hard work went into this, and the payoff is bigger than the small-time production, low visibility, and brief runtime portend. I find no flaws here whatsoever, and if anything I would only offer the caveat that, as ever with time-travel flicks, one shouldn't get bogged down in trying to sort out the particulars. No matter how you slice it, though, 'Beyond the infinite two minutes' is a wonderfully brilliant and creative, and I'm glad to give it my very high, hearty, and enthusiastic recommendation!