James。Benning’s。first。film。called。The。United。States。of。America。was。a。1975。trip。across。the。country,。capturing。its。scenery。through。a。car。windshield.。This。second。one。also。crisscrosses。the。nation,。but。without。a。car,。carving。it。up。instead。into。a。series。of。static。shots。of。just。under。two。minutes,。one。for。each。state,。presented。alphabetically,。from。Heron。Bay,。Alabama。to。Kelly,。Wyoming.。The。names。of。the。places。are。nondescript,。but。the。images。attached。to。them。are。anything。but,。immaculately。composed。shots。of。landscape,。cityscape。and。the。spaces。in。between.。As。we。move。from。A。to。Z,。the。images。coalesce。into。a。portrait。of。today’s。USA,。tracing。out。its。fault。lines。almost。in。passing:。fenced-off。facilities,。a。river。bed。running。dry,。factories。and。refineries,。run-down。streets。and。gas。stations,。a。camp。under。a。bridge.。The。past。is。there。too,。seeping。up。through。the。songs。and。speeches。that。sporadically。pierce。the。background。noise。or。the。motifs。that。evoke。a。whole。career;。the。clouds,。trains。and。cabins。are。stand-ins。for。films,。not。just。states.。As。always,。there’s。time。for。more。abstract。thoughts。too:。each。image。may。stand。for。a。state,。but。representativity。is。slippery.。Which。state。is。more。cinematic。than。the。rest?