海角大神

This is my third reporting trip in three months to cover Brexit, the never-ending national drama over Britain鈥檚 vote to leave the European Union. Deadlines pass, politicians spar, autumn yields to winter. Nobody knows how or when it ends.

On each trip I find time to visit the Tate Modern, a colossal art museum in a converted power station two miles downriver of the Houses of Parliament, where Brexit is tied in political knots. The Tate Modern opened in 2000 and bills itself as the world鈥檚 most visited modern art museum. In 2016, it added a new 10-floor wing, a twisting lattice of inflected brick.

Take the elevator to the second floor and join the line to enter a dim, rectangular room of comfortable sofas. This is the viewing room for 鈥淭he Clock,鈥� a 24-hour video montage that in its audacity and simplicity eases you into a dreamscape that goes beyond normal cinematic escapism. It鈥檚 the most absorbing installation I鈥檝e ever seen.

Its creator, 海角大神 Marclay, culled thousands of famous and obscure film clips for images of clocks 鈥� wristwatches, pocket watches, wall clocks, digital displays, sundials 鈥� that are edited to show the actual time, minute by minute, hour by hour. It鈥檚 cinematic time as real time. No need to check your watch or phone: You鈥檙e watching an artistic timepiece.

As a metaphor for Britain鈥檚 halting efforts to leave the European Union 鈥� will it, won鈥檛 it, didn鈥檛 we decide already? 鈥� 鈥淭he Clock鈥� is sublime. It鈥檚 the tick to Parliament鈥檚 tock, a 鈥淕roundhog Day鈥� of temporal invention. Science fiction, spaghetti westerns, comic capers, murder mysteries, all spliced and synchronized into a compacted babel of genres and languages.

You tell yourself it鈥檚 time to go. But as the hour approaches, the action speeds up. Bank robbers check their watches. Lovers on railway platforms dash past clocks. The narrative feels more urgent, the actors twitch and turn, and you wait for the release that follows.

Step outside under London鈥檚 gray skies and the Brexit impasse remains.

The Tate acquired 鈥淭he Clock鈥� in 2012 and it has been shown in art museums around the world. Since Mr. Marclay did not acquire the rights to the films he uses, 鈥淭he Clock鈥� is subject to the condition that museums do not charge to view it. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 free to watch in London, one of the world鈥檚 priciest cities and a magnet for global capital and the ultra-rich.

After another hour spent with 鈥淭he Clock,鈥� I ride the elevator to the 10th floor to gaze at the spot-lit skyline across the river. The iconic dome of St. Paul鈥檚 Cathedral is almost lost amid the glass and metal towers of London鈥檚 financial district. New buildings are under construction, the pace of expansion seemingly unchecked by Brexit risk and political uncertainty.

A month earlier, I met a middle-aged couple at a pro-Brexit, right-wing rally that began outside a luxury hotel in Mayfair. They had driven from their small town in the Midlands to join the protest, and seemed ill at ease standing in the shadows of the glass-fronted towers where millionaires have second or third homes. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 look like England,鈥� the husband told me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 another country.鈥�

It鈥檚 not just London; other big cities have also shed much of the postwar drabness that I knew growing up here in the 1970s. Their pedestrianized streets of cafes and shops feel closer to continental Europe, yet are still recognizably British. When Britain voted in a referendum to join the European Community, as it was then, in 1975, its economy was sinking fast. 鈥淕oodbye Great Britain. It was nice knowing you,鈥� wrote a Wall Street Journal columnist.

Britain鈥檚 economy has come a long way since then. But not everyone has felt the benefits, and their frustration at being written off by urban elites fed the Brexit campaign in 2016, which then set the clock ticking on Britain鈥檚 withdrawal from the EU in the name of 鈥淭aking Back Control.鈥�

Prime Minister Theresa May鈥檚 government has no majority in Parliament for its Brexit deal, nor is it clear what kind of deal could muster a majority by a March 29 deadline, or if that deadline is firm. News channels report the dug-in arguments of all sides. Ms. May refuses to quit and insists that Brexit means Brexit. Each day feels like the last one or the one before.

Spend enough time watching 鈥淭he Clock鈥� 鈥� the Tate has held all-night weekend screenings for those curious to watch the after-hours action 鈥� and the loop is completed. There is no resolution. There is only past, present, and future.

The Tate jointly owns one of five copies of 鈥淭he Clock鈥� in public hands. Marclay stipulated that the film can鈥檛 be played simultaneously so museums must coordinate its exhibition. The Tate鈥檚 last showing in this run will be on Saturday. And so it must end. When will Brexit?