Eight Bridges

Part of my coverage of the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival

EIGHT BRIDGES   **1/2

James Benning

2026

IDEA:  Eight stationary, ten-minute shots of different bridges in the United States.

BLURB:  A structural film in more ways than one, Eight Bridges presents static shots of fixed structures and lets the world, and our minds, drift around them. What happens during these shots? The light subtly changes as clouds and fog shift in the sky; vehicular and pedestrian traffic flows across the bridges; water ripples and boats sail by. For an attentive viewer, much more might occur outside the frame. We might begin tracking compositional and graphic patterns across the shots, like the angles and distances at which Benning films the bridges, the positions at which he places the horizon, or what foreground or background elements — clouds, foliage, birds — are in motion. We might even try to retain the look of the first frames of each shot so we can mentally compare them to the final frames to clock what’s changed. Our minds could turn to more historical-materialist matters, like where these bridges are located and when they were built, what purposes they’ve served, and how their relative upkeep or dereliction might reflect a post-industrial landscape. Maybe we’ll wonder more broadly and philosophically about bridges as liminal spaces, and afterward, do some research on the ones Benning chose. Or perhaps we’ll spend quite a bit of time thinking about what we’re having for lunch later. Eight Bridges really doesn’t care. It’s as indifferent to you as steel and concrete.