Review: ‘Eight Bridges’ is just bridges — and it’s incredible

There’s a (to me) legendary Village Voice review of the 2010 documentary Babies by Dan Kois that consists of only the word “babies” over and over again but formatted to look like a real review, which was a tongue-in-cheek nod to that film’s singular focus. I was very tempted to do the same thing here about Eight Bridges, the new documentary from longtime independent filmmaker James Benning that was honestly an incredible viewing experience. 

The film is a series of eight 10-minute stationary shots of different bridges across the United States. That’s it. That’s the movie.

There’s a few big names like the Golden Gate Bridge in California, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, and the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey, with the rest spanning New Mexico, Florida, Iowa, North Dakota, and Oregon. They showcase an assortment of styles and settings, but ultimately they’re all just giant bridges like any other that you probably haven’t spared a thought about unless you’re actively driving over one.

So why was it so incredible? Perhaps because knowing basically nothing about it before watching allowed me to be delightfully surprised by its sort of anti-film premise and execution. (I was two bridges in before I realized, Oh, it’s really just shots of bridges. Rad.) Or because those 80 minutes I spent watching were the most soothing and meditative of my entire day or even week. Or because, properly focused, I had a chance to admire the way the angles of the suspension cables contrasted with their scenic backgrounds and how small the cars and pedestrians seemed in comparison to the sizable structures they traversed. I’m no civil engineer, but I came away with a newfound respect for bridges of all kinds, which are both marvels of modern design and essential to civilization itself.

Benning was new to me despite having been making short and feature-length experimental films since the early ’70s, including other minimalist documentaries like 13 Lakes, Ten Skies, and Railroad (see if you can guess what those are about). While I don’t want to oversell the experience you’ll have with Eight Bridges (your, uh, mileage may vary), I think it’s still worth the trip.