The latest documentary by the great German filmmaker Werner Herzog doesn’t examine the life of some extraordinary outsider or recast found-footage into an idiosyncratic, philosophical narrative. What’s most surprising about this latest project is that it’s essentially a PSA, but, of course, one executed with the poetry and illumination we’ve come to expect from the master.
Described as “haunting,” this short documentary is titled From One Second to the Next, it will be shown in high schools and safety organizations across the country.
“From One Second to the Next,” the rather unlikely film below, came together when AT&T approached the legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog and asked if he would direct a series of short films warning people about the dangers of texting while driving.
“What AT&T proposed immediately clicked and connected inside of me,” Herzog told the AP. “There’s a completely new culture out there. I’m not a participant of texting and driving—or texting at all—but I see there’s something going on in civilization which is coming with great vehemence at us.”
The result is haunting. It focuses on four accidents, some of them fatal, and Herzog aims his camera squarely at the faces of both victims and perpetrators, asking them to describe in detail what happened and the aftermath.
Watch the full film below.
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