Time travel has been explored countless times in film, but ‘One More Time’ a strikingly poignant 10-minute short from writer/director Jing Ma, strips it down to its rawest, most human core: the fear of the future and the weight of revelation.
The film opens with close friends Anya (Georgie Cufone) and Philip (Jordan Walker) standing at the entrance of a cave by the ocean – a breathtaking, ominous portal to their futures. It’s image drenched in foreshadowing, captured in glorious widescreen by cinematographer Dane Howell, whose visuals advance this short to a high quality standard. The cave is a threshold, a test, a moment of no return. They want to see what lies ahead.
Anya goes first. She has three minutes. Philip is older – David Luke playing his future self with quiet depth – and he’s married with a revelation. Now it’s Philip’s turn. He enters the cave, eager to see Anya’s future. What he finds hits with quiet devastation. ‘One More Time’ doesn’t rely on twists for cheap shock value; its emotional impact comes from the slow, dawning realization of truth.
Ma’s writing is deceptively simple. The dialogue is natural, but the silences carry even more weight. Cufone and Walker bring an authenticity that makes their friendship deeply believable, while Luke’s performance as Future Philip adds gravitas.
This is a short film that subtlety haunts, touches, and is beautifully executed. It asks a terrifying question: If you could see the future, would you want to? And more importantly – could you live with the answer?
