The End of Time

Although technically a science documentary, Peter Mettler's The End of Time is more of an unstructured cinematic essay, a meandering visual poem about time and our highly elastic perceptions of its nature, as well as how advanced measuring gadgets and graphs seem to echo the contemplative mandalas of Buddhism. As uncredited interviewees and voiceovers speak on the soundtrack, the camera visits the CERN particle-accelerator complex, where physicists hope to reconstruct the instant after the Big Bang (looking back in...time). Deep-sky telescopes in Hawaii peer at the light from distant stars which may have expired long ago (i.e., from another...time). On a nearby volcanic island, a lone holdout dwells in a house amidst ongoing lava flows that have forced the evacuation of all other humans (so he's got lots of...time). Forlorn, abandoned structures of the city of Detroit slowly decay, unheeded (as...time...passes). Although sometimes the film seems to be taking its own sweet...time, this is a thought-provoking meditation that shares elements with other documentaries as diverse as Detropia (VL-3/13) and Nostalgia for the Light (VL-1/12). A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)