From Omeleto.
Two young women take a trip.
END OF INFINITY is used with permission from Flora Lopategui. Learn more at https://windowzebraproductions.co.uk.
Jacqueline and Charlotte are two young women traveling on a bus, headed to an unnamed destination. Sitting side by side, the bus compartment is filled with other passengers: some odd, some ordinary. But the two women are absorbed in themselves, not interacting with the others.
The pair talk, reminisce, banter, and even ruminate together, often lapsing into a comfortable silence. But as their trip nears its end, not all is as it seems.
Directed and written by Flora Lopategui, this lyrical, gentle short drama tracks the voyage of two young women in the prime of their lives as they make their way to an unknown destination. The rhythms of the storytelling are often as idyllic as the English countryside they’re traveling to. But the scenery isn’t the point here: it’s the time shared between Jacqueline and Charlotte, one that seems initially lived-in and ordinary but reveals itself to be richer and of more import later on.
Shot as a virtual production using similar principles and technology as TV shows like THE MANDALORIAN, the narrative’s visual world is filled with a golden warmth, mellow and slightly otherworldly, with the camera focused on Jacqueline and Charlotte’s conversation. They talk of family, friends and memories, with close-ups often delicately charting their bemused and affectionate reactions to one another. As Jacqueline and Charlotte, respectively, actors Gwen Jones and Rosie Graham have a natural sympathy and appeal, as well as a teasing, loving connection with one another.
At first, all seems normal, and no tension simmers in the richly specific dialogue, which allows the storytelling to focus on the relationship and characters. Yet as we get glimpses of the other passengers and hear an occasional odd line or reference come from Jacqueline, we begin to realize something else is at work, underlying the seemingly calm and serene atmosphere. The visual otherworldliness becomes subtly more dreamlike, as does the gently radiant musical score, and as the trip comes to an end, its purpose and destination are finally revealed.
Based on a dream that the writer-director had before her grandmother’s funeral, END OF INFINITY is about the depth and spirit of familial love, as well as the unique bond between generations, often when one member is at the beginning of their lives and the other is near the end. But it also has a memorable, poignant wistfulness, a lingering sense of "just one more moment" that suffuses us when we lose a loved one unexpectedly. It celebrates the value of presence with the people we love — of basking in their love and connection and cherishing every moment.
