Bright nights, lonely crowds – a Tokyo train speeds through urban contradictions

The Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Kondo is known for his dazzling experimental shorts, which craft otherworldly art from urban landscapes. In 0107 – b moll he uses nighttime images of Tokyo trains to explore some of the contrasts – physical togetherness and emotional solitude, natural darkness and artificial light – that often characterise city life. Beginning with a single train carried by a pulsating piano score, the frame erupts into a dizzying cascade of commuter trains, suffusing the uncanny imagery with an almost eerie sense of urgency.