The End of Time is a meditation on the nature of time in the loosest terms imaginable. Such a broad concept is laudable in its undertaking; however, the immensity and loftiness of this subject is what ultimately dooms the film. Ironically, the most common complaint I've seen about the movie is that it was a waste of time. And, at almost two hours, you would hope every minute of screen time is necessary to the story. At the outset of the film you quickly learn from very long, uninterrupted scenes and glacial narration that the filmmaker is using the movie to make the audience further aware of their perception of time. The pacing of the film is confrontationally slow to a audience that uses movies as a way to pass time or to escape into a world without the pressures of time for an hour and a half; though, I doubt the filmmaker intended to make a film that evokes confrontation rather than thoughtfulness. These long takes are an excellent concept and serve the filmmaker's intentions but only for the first ~30 minutes, until they lose the novelty and become cumbersome. One of the reasons this happens is because of the cinematography. There are some stunning shots and beautiful landscapes but there are also issues with consistency, framing, and camera quality that come off as amateurish. There's definitely more good than bad with the cinematography but for the scenes to earn their length, every shot should be great--not just good.
The other problem with the film is the concept itself. I expected a more narrowly defined thesis that explored the nature and origins of time and human understanding of it and I thought that was what I got when the movie started at CERN; however, the film took an abrupt philosophical turn that I did not expect. When the film begins to explore subjective and personal experiences of time, it also begins to feel like it takes itself too seriously and begins to rely too much on it's concept rather than the truth or incisiveness of it's subject matter.
I imagine it's a divisive film and the amount of people that hate it is equal to those that love it. The experience of the viewer is largely predicated on their foreknowledge of what kind of film it is and their reluctance or willingness to watch a long, discursive meditation on the nature of time.
The other problem with the film is the concept itself. I expected a more narrowly defined thesis that explored the nature and origins of time and human understanding of it and I thought that was what I got when the movie started at CERN; however, the film took an abrupt philosophical turn that I did not expect. When the film begins to explore subjective and personal experiences of time, it also begins to feel like it takes itself too seriously and begins to rely too much on it's concept rather than the truth or incisiveness of it's subject matter.
I imagine it's a divisive film and the amount of people that hate it is equal to those that love it. The experience of the viewer is largely predicated on their foreknowledge of what kind of film it is and their reluctance or willingness to watch a long, discursive meditation on the nature of time.