It's Time To Consider Bridges (James Benning)

"EIGHT BRIDGES is, by turns, meditative and contemplative. By asking us to remember and enjoy the fundamental pleasure of cinema, within the continual barrage of commercial advertising and of films/shows made and marketed for easy consumption, plus continual Capitalist overloading of our perceptual faculties, exacerbated by the expanding (and visually contracting) dominance of cellphones, and the concerning political tension between Europe and Trump’s “MAGA” America, Benning offers an extended moment, if not of therapy, at least of quiet thoughtfulness and awareness—and cinematic pleasure."

Scott Macdonald

"JAMES BENNING: Before I made a shot, I’d already done a lot of advance planning. I’d decided to get to each bridge at a particular time of the day. And I paced my trip to each bridge in order to have ideal weather conditions for what I wanted to record on the day I’d arrive. For example, I wanted a different kind of sky at each place where I filmed. In 2001, for SOGOBI [2001], I spent three days on the Golden Gate Bridge, waiting for the right ship to film as it moved under the bridge. Generally I know before I arrive to shoot what I want and when I can get it.

But the fortuitous plays a bigger role than you suggest. The helicopter in the Keys, the ocean-going ship in Astoria, the boat up the Alabama River, the train along the Mississippi River, and a great sky with no train in North Dakota were not planned." 

Time to consider bridges. James Benning interview by Scott Macdonald (12 Feb 2026)