A hit at festivals the world over, Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes is a highly entertaining, brilliantly made and thoughtful sci-fi comedy whose seventy-minute run time is made up of one extraordinary continuous shot.

There have been other films made likewise, the entire narrative taking place in a single take: Russian Ark is possibly the best-known while others like Hitchcock’s Rope and Inarritu’s Birdman tried to re-create the effect by disguising cuts. This film is not an exercise in clout however, plotted and executed so intricately, Junta Yamaguchi’s film uses the format of one unbroken shot to its full potential.

The film begins by following sulky cafe owner and struggling musician Kato (Kazunari Tosa) to his second-floor apartment, where he finds someone video calling him from the computer in the cafe below. Somehow it is him two minutes in the future, instructing his present self to head downstairs, where he has the exact same conversation only this time with his past self.

What follows is a constant stream of two minute trips between the computer in Kato’s apartment and the one downstairs, conversing with the past and the future. At first he, waitress Aya (Riko Fujitani), promoter Komiya (Gota Ishida) and two cafe patrons (Yoshifumi Sakai and Masashi Suwa) try to work out why this is happening, before their thoughts turn to how they can use it for their own gain.

Being able to see what can happen two minutes in the future isn’t a very useful, but by facing the two screens against each another, they create a Droste effect of seemingly endless looping images bridged by two-minute intervals. (The Droste Effect is the sensation of a picture being included within itself, creating a seemingly infinite loop of images. It gets its name from the brand of Dutch cocoa powder, whose original packaging incorporated in a smaller version of the image itself. It’s worth being reminded of this going into the film, as it plays a central part to the plot.)

Now able to communicate with themselves seemingly far into the future, they have scope to use this glimpse into the future to their advantage. Of course thoughts first turn to financial gain, but of the group Kato is hesitant to play along. While the others gain greater assurance and confidence knowing what is to come for them, the owner, having seen many disappointments in his time, does not want to know how future events will unfold. At least that leaves open the possibility for hope.

The rest can only see good things come of this happenstance, but start to realise they are being lied to by their future selves and end up lying to their past selves only so as to not create a time paradox. Eventually things start to take a more dangerous turn, which is when the ability to see into the future ends up coming in very handy.

It sounds confusing but in practice it is really easy to follow. Credit is definitely owed to screenwriter Makoto Ueda, whose script is so intricately plotted and is able to take complicated subject matter and makes it clear and easy to understand. His subject matter is effortlessly clever and characterisation and dialogue are both consistently funny.

On a technical level, BTITM is impeccable. The single tracking shot which constantly follows the characters conversing with past and future selves with no lag shows minutely designated timing and planning to create the illusion perfectly. The behind-the-scenes clips that play during the end credits, while not giving too much away, show the depth of planning that went into the film as well as revealing astonishing details, such as the whole film being shot on a smartphone and without green screens. Seeing these moments made me want to see a making-of version where we see the film being made in real time.

As well as being technologically marvellous, BTITM feels like a very good Twilight Zone episode: high-concept but presents its complex subject matter succinctly and making the most of its conceit for the right amount of time. An hour and ten minutes may seem short but it doesn’t stretch itself beyond beyond telling the full and complete story. BTITM has all the makings of a cult classic, but its ambition and execution is deserving of as big an audience as it can get. It is worth seeking out and, appropriately, watching again and again.

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