Station to Station

A concept film about a cross-country conceptual art project is hardly multiplex fodder. But the surprises come thick and fast in Doug Aitken's quirky account of the 24-day, 4000-mile journey aboard a train designed as an evocative kinetic light sculpture. The decision to chronicle the expedition from New York to San Francisco in 62 one-minute shorts may seem capricious (and it's never more than the sum of its parts), but the sheer variety of visual styles and techniques that Aitken attempts ensures there is rarely a dull moment. The locomotive makes ten stops along the way to visit a series of arty happenings and pick up new passengers to be coaxed into doing a bit for the camera. The talent comes from across the artistic spectrum, but the emphasis is firmly on musicians like Patti Smith, Jackson Browne, Thurston Moore and Mavis Staples. Whether contemplating the passing landscape, eavesdropping on luvvie conversations or picking up on curios like Olafur Eliasson's "Kinetic Drawing Machine" (that uses a ball of ink and the motion of the train to make art), the vignettes provide plenty to admire, amuse, contemplate and provoke.