The first surprise is that a filmmaker of the likes of Javier Ruiz Caldera, the accomplished director of box-office comedy hits such as Spanish Movie, Ghost Graduation and 3 Many Weddings, should have been selected by the team headed by José Luis Rebordinos to compete for the Golden Shell at the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival, a competition normally reserved for filmmakers considered more cerebral, intense and serious. The second surprise is that although this ill-tempered, time-loop comedy entitled 5 More Minutes does not always necessarily hit the nail on the head, audiences will still have a whale of a time, and rarely have so many bursts of laughter (some of them slightly nervous) echoed around the Basque festival’s venues.

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For although it is being marketed as an apocalyptic drama with thriller elements, black humour ultimately reigns supreme over a plot that pushes its characters to the limit, prompting them to react in hasty, frantic and downright absurd (not to say stupid) ways. The screenplay (written by Berto Romero, who previously worked with Ruiz Caldera on, among other projects, the excellent series The Other Side) introduces a couple whose marriage is in crisis (played by the comedian himself and actress Belén Cuesta, who won a Goya for The Endless Trench). They decide to spend a few days in a luxurious, secluded villa in an attempt to salvage a relationship teetering on the brink.

There, in an idyllic spot in the Catalan countryside, they are greeted by the rental agency’s representative (Javier Cámara, playing his usual suspicious-looking self), who hands over the keys and explains how everything works. But just as he is about to leave, time suddenly jumps backwards, and the previous five minutes begin to repeat themselves, with the consequences of the actions that have already taken place carrying over into the next cycle. This happens several times, with the confusion, tension, anxiousness and fear experienced by the protagonists mounting as the story progresses. All too easily, they go from being something akin to trapped victims to ruthless perpetrators who take matters into their own hands.

Shot in several five-minute sequence shots, the film joins other titles – from Timecrimes to Groundhog Day – that use the time loop as a narrative structure. Working with just a handful of settings – a car, two houses and their immediate surroundings – Ruiz Caldera has fashioned a disaster-themed fable that is both surprising and entertaining, if not entirely satisfying. Its stressed-out characters are capable of committing the most outrageous acts, leaving viewers wondering whether they would behave in the same way under similar circumstances.

And just as Nacho Vigalondo did in Extraterrestrial, telling the story of an alien invasion from the intimate perspective of a couple, here the cinematic device is employed to construct a film about the end of the world as seen through the wounded intimacy of a married couple with a child. To this end, the movie draws on sparkling dialogue, outlandish situations and a sickly-sweet tune by Swedish duo Roxette. All of these elements – together with whatever metaphors we may wish to find in the film about the selfish shortcomings of today’s world – serve to heighten its mystery, chaos and strangeness.

5 More Minutes is a Movistar Plus+ Original produced by Ikiru Films and El Terrat. Filmax is handling its international sales as well as distribution in Spanish cinemas, where the film will be released on 22 January, following screenings at other festivals including Sitges, Abycine and Gijón.