Every state gets its own representative shot, in alphabetical order – from Alabama to Wyoming. A portrait of the USA in fifty-two scenes which might not be picture-postcard pretty, but they’re undeniably mesmeric. A systematic yet unpredictable film – among others, in the way it shows that even conceptualists have a sense of humour.
James Benning is an artist with the ability to transform the way we look at film – and the world around us. In his latest project he returns to some degree to a film he made with Bette Gordon in 1975. Back then their tour of the United States was accompanied by radio hits; now these States of his are a bit quieter. We are shown shots of attractive natural surroundings, but also images of the decay of infrastructure and thus of the decline of living standards as well. How is the temperament of the individual states etched into the shots? What characteristics do we associate with them? Can Florida be depicted without kitschy colours? And does it make sense to break them up in this way if we’re talking about united states?
Viktor Palák
103 min / Color, DCP
Director James Benning
/ Sales neugerriemschneider
James Benning (1942, Milwaukee, USA). Selected filmography: Grand Opera. An Historical Romance (1979), Landscape Suicide (1986), Four Corners (1997), 13 Lakes (2004), One Way Boogie Woogie / 27 Years Later (2005), Twenty Cigarettes (2011), Stemple Pass (2012), Natural History (2014), Scorched Earth (2016), Maggie’s Farm (2019).
neugerriemschneider
Linienstrasse 155, 10115, Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49 302 887 7277
E-mail: [email protected]
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