When talking about movies that can be both low-budget and charming, this is the type of movie I am talking about. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes delivers an ambitious time-travel premise with a gracious eccentricity. The build-up of events flows together naturally. Beginning as a playful gimmick in which they test out unconsequential scenarios, they increasingly spiral down into a rabbit hole of personal gain. Not only are characters blindsided by the potential of their discovery, but their folly leads them down a path of destruction and tests the boundaries of temporality. Their laxity reflects our natural desires to conquer the forces outside of our control. This reflection is handled in a lightly flippant manner, and I believe that it makes this film charming.
I really like Yamaguchi’s interpretation on causality and its inherent impacts on the time manipulation. The restraint of inevitability does not hinder the free will of the characters; characters could theoretically choose (and later do choose) to violate this fundamental force of the universe. When Kato and Megumi resist the time travel police’s mandates, it triggers a paradox that wipes them away. Even under the threat of erasure, Kato and Megumi determine that this reality is what they want to experience, even just for a fleeting moment. The supersedure of their relationship over the machinations of reality serves as a repudiation of external forces, therefore demonstrating a love far beyond the grasp of the universe itself.
Either that, or I completely over-analyzed this movie. If so, my bad. I liked this movie and appreciated its ambition, but I won’t pretend like it stole my heart. Regardless, this movie is a testament to the accessibility of good film-making.
