Two lovely little Japanese movies I watched recently, both directed by Junta Yamaguchi & written by Makoto Ueda. Both sort of science fiction/comedies involving time.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is about some people who find that the TV in the cafe they work in is suddenly connected to a computer monitor in the apartment above the cafe, but 2 minutes in the future.. So it's about being able to talk to yourself from the (very near) future. That doesn't sound like much but the film makers did some really clever things with it! It gets really good when
... It's been made to look like it was filmed in only 1 take (though obviously wasn't really) and that works brilliantly.. It's a simple film, only very mildly mind-bending.. I think it's about living in the present, and making your own destiny..
River is about some people at a rural inn who become trapped in a time loop... Sort of like Groundhog Day, except the time loop is only 2 minutes long, and instead of just one guy being affected, EVERYONE there keeps repeating that 2 minutes while retaining their memories of the previous loops.. It is also a simple film & very cleverly done. No crazy confusion and impossible puzzles like the 2004 time travel film Primer.. It's cool to see how the different people deal with the looping time, and how they work around it... I think this movie is about being scared of the future and wanting things to stay the way they are..
These are down-to-earth, low key, beautiful and silly films...they're just really sweet and fun. I really liked how they both felt more than anything else like I was watching a stage play.. makes sense because the director, writer & actors are all from a theatre company, Europe Kikaku. Much recommended for a cosy night in! I hope this crew makes another film involving 2 minutes of time travel, somehow.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is about some people who find that the TV in the cafe they work in is suddenly connected to a computer monitor in the apartment above the cafe, but 2 minutes in the future.. So it's about being able to talk to yourself from the (very near) future. That doesn't sound like much but the film makers did some really clever things with it! It gets really good when
they discover they can move the monitor to point directly at the TV, making an infinite chain of progressively-2-more-minutes-into-the-future TVs
River is about some people at a rural inn who become trapped in a time loop... Sort of like Groundhog Day, except the time loop is only 2 minutes long, and instead of just one guy being affected, EVERYONE there keeps repeating that 2 minutes while retaining their memories of the previous loops.. It is also a simple film & very cleverly done. No crazy confusion and impossible puzzles like the 2004 time travel film Primer.. It's cool to see how the different people deal with the looping time, and how they work around it... I think this movie is about being scared of the future and wanting things to stay the way they are..
These are down-to-earth, low key, beautiful and silly films...they're just really sweet and fun. I really liked how they both felt more than anything else like I was watching a stage play.. makes sense because the director, writer & actors are all from a theatre company, Europe Kikaku. Much recommended for a cosy night in! I hope this crew makes another film involving 2 minutes of time travel, somehow.