From One Second to the Next

It's somewhat unusual that Werner Herzog was behind this, because it's not characteristic of most of his documentaries. Of course, it would feel strange if it did have that signature Herzog style, given it's a very no-nonsense PSA type of documentary about the dangers of texting while driving.

There's not a great deal that can be said about it beyond that, because once you've seen one effective PSA, you've pretty much seen them all (of course, this style can be done badly). Herzog understood the severity of the stories at hand and let them speak for themselves, and though this is straightforward and sad, that's what it needs to be... so it largely works.

This relatively short film is about the consequences of texting and driving and a warning for viewers to not to do it. Herzog has considerable skill in interviewing and assembling the interviews in order to make a point or create a narrative. We can see his artistry here, but we're left wondering: what is it all about, really? Both victims and perpetrators of texting and driving accidents are interviewed. Of course it's what you'd expect: descriptions of the carnage, devastated families and offenders who have to live with guilt for the rest of their lives. These are the kind of scenes that are played out in any fatal accident, no matter what the cause. And except for the particular reason for driver distraction, in this case texting, they are generic to all bad accidents. This exercise in persuasion is powerful, moving, and pointless. Why? Because anyone dumb enough to text and drive wouldn't be watching a Werner Herzog film to get pointers on driver ed. Telling a person not to text and drive is like telling him not to stick his hand in a wood chipper while it's running. You don't warn people like that about the dangers of doing something anyone with half a brain would know from the start not to do, you don't let them drive in the first place.

The moment I read about this new documentary short from Werner Herzog, I thought, "A public service announcement video to warn people to never text while driving? Really?" It seems like a small hair ball of a problem that should already be common sense. Having watched the short, I realized that's precisely the problem, that texting while driving seems like a such a minor hiccup. It is not.

The half-hour short covers the story of four accidents that have caused by texting while driving. One case has a child that is paralyzed for life and is currently on life support, caused by an accident from a teenage girl who was distracted from texting. There were no skid marks. She never saw him. Another case involves a man who killed two Amish children. The driver is now perpetually left to questioning himself what was so important about his text that couldn't wait. The other two cases was a family dealing with the monstrous medical bills from her mother's accident and a family losing her father. What really struck me was the last man who caused the accident, who wasn't able to recall the text message he sent after the accident happened. He couldn't remember why it was important.

Herzog brings his brand of deep introspectiveness to the short, adding the much-needed seriousness this topic deserves. As the title suggests, life is connected by each second. It's in- between each seconds we must throw caution, because everything can change within a second. The most disturbing part for me was, my initial reaction was exactly the type of behavior this short was trying to warn against. It is not a hairball. It is not something to handle. Reading a text is not better than sending a text. There are human lives at stake. Do not text and drive. You just do not do it.

Some statistics I found on texting while driving:

• Texting while driving causes 1,600,000 accidents per year.

• The minimal amount of time needed for a text is 5 seconds. If you are traveling at 88.5 km/hour (55 miles/hour), that would cover an entire football field without any attention paid to the road.

• As of 2011, at least 23% auto collisions have involved cell phones. That amounts to 1.3 million car crashes.

• 1 out of 5 drivers of all ages confess to surfing on the web while driving.

• Text messaging is the longest eye-off-the-road time out of all the distracted driving activities. An accident is 23 times more likely to happen if you are text messaging.

The documentary can be viewed on Youtube. The slogan to the AT&T campaign is "It can wait."

For more reviews, please visit my film blog at http://hkauteur.wordpress.com/

From One Second to the Next (2013)

**** (out of 4)

This 34-minute documentary was produced by the major phone companies as a way to push their message of not texting and driving. The film talks to several people who were the cause of deadly accidents or the victim of such accidents due to someone texting while driving.

These type of educational films have been around for decades and more often than not they're pretty laughable and over-dramatic to the point where they're viewed today as something to have a party with while watching. That's certainly not the case with this one but that should be expected since you've got a filmmaker like Werner Herzog behind the camera. Without question he's one of the greatest filmmakers to ever live and there's no doubt that he knows how to make an emotional documentary. This film here certainly nails home its message of "waiting" to text and I think it's going to have an impact on whoever watches it. That doesn't mean it's going to make people stop texting while driving but I think the filmmaker and producers would be happy even if it just saved one life.

The stories told are pretty heartbreaking to watch and the entire film has a very somber, cold and depressing feel to it. Some have criticized it for showing redemption but I think that really misses the point. After all, life has to go on after such traumatic events and I think Herzog is simply showing the impact of one's actions and what life will be like trying to move past it. The story are all extremely well-told and for the most part the film is pretty flawless from a technical stand point. If you're familiar with the work of Herzog then you'll know that a lot of times during his documentaries he's on screen talking to the people being interviewed. It's curious to see he doesn't do that here and instead just lets the people tell their stories.

FROM ONE SECOND TO THE NEXT certainly has a message behind it and Herzog brings that point across with ease.

If you have a phone and if you have a car then you have texted on that phone when you have been driving – for the vast majority of people I'd say this is the case. Might just be to read a message or maybe just to type and send a one-word response, but I think a lot of people have done it. It is such a small thing that takes so little time that it is easy to justify and easy to do – in the US I imagine it is even more tempting with long highways, cruise-control and large comfortable vehicles that sometimes feel like they are driving themselves. The consequences of such action is what this film is about and, although some may be put off by the idea of educational programming for schools, let me assure you that this short film is so much more than the standard.

The main thing that drew me to it and one of the reasons it is such a strong film is that it is directed by Werner Herzog and he brings to this film the very high standards that one would associate with his feature-length documentaries. Although we (wisely) never hear his side of the interviews, he has a knack for getting people to talk, reflect and open up – not sure how he does it but it works so often. In the four stories we have presented here, he gets such great testimony. The film opens with "I had my brother in my hand" and we see a teenage girl posing half on a kerb with her hand behind her holding the hand of someone who isn't there anymore. It is a grabbing line and it is the best way to start because it never lets you go. The stories are presented factually and there is no fake music or forced sentimentality here, people just speak. For half the stories the film has access to the texters and their victims, for the other two just the victims, but they are all incredibly moving and it is hard not to feel for these people who, one way or another have had their lives completely changed for the worse. It is 35 minutes long but I found it very hard to make it through without hitting pause.

The content may sound obvious but, like I say, the manner in which it is constructed and delivered is excellent and it is greatly complemented by the direction and cinematography. For all its sadness, it is a very beautiful film to look at. The definition is high, the colors are perfect and the shot selection and framing is great. We don't just get talking heads, we also get characters in-situ in places, against backdrops; it is perhaps hard to describe but while it doesn't use visually flair or trickery, it is plain and simple a beautiful looking film and worth watching on HD even if your internet connection is a bit slow.

It is freely available online and it deserved to be watched. Those that love Herzog's work will find that he is totally present here (this is not some corporate gig for him) but the more important reason for watching is simply how tragic and brutally impacting the film is. Our lives are made up of small, selfish actions where we think of ourselves first and others second – the film makes it incredibly clear that these actions should be put to one side while in control of a 2 tonne block of metal traveling at speed.