''RR'' (a.k.a. ''Railroad'') is a

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

American experimental documentary feature by James Benning. Shot in

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

, as most of Benning's films are, ''RR'' is another in Benning's series of American experimental landscape films; this one focusing on

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

s and their surroundings. In ''Railroad'', Benning explores themes of American

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

and overconsumption in what Benning calls a "collaboration" with the trains themselves."The end of the line: Trainspotting America with James Benning's RR" ''SF Bay Guardian'', by Mark Peranson, May 7, 2008
/ref>

Summary

The film is an exercise in

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

restraint for it is basically a series of static shots of trains.AllMovie
/ref> There is an empty frame, the train enters, then it passes and leaves. The obsessive gaze of Benning's fixed static frame causes the viewer to wait and watch, obsessing, like train fanatic Benning does, on the imagery of the locomotive and the exploration of the random colors of its cars, the machinery and the various American landscapes the trains are surrounded by.

References

External links

''RR'' location list (new filmkritik)
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MUBI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rr 2000s avant-garde and experimental films 2007 films Rail transport films Films directed by James Benning 2000s American films