Must Watch: Werner Herzog’s Profound Doco Against Texting While Driving

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog (Into The Abyss, Grizzly Man) has teamed up with American telco AT&T to create a deeply affecting, 30 minute documentary that explores first-hand horror stories of texting and driving, titled From One Second To The Next.

A relatively fresh killer, texting and driving has proven to be an escalating issue around the world; AT&T claims that 100,000 car crashes every year involve drivers who are texting—a frightening statistic, with Australia still remaining susceptible (despite recent laws that strictly prohibit touching mobile devices in NSW and other states) to the gut-wrenching phenomenon of  drivers who can’t quite wait to send panda emojis and facial-contorted snapchats to their best mates. Friends: no emoji is that important.
Herzog’s documentary weaves in and out of the lives of Xzavier, Chandler, Debbie and Reggie—who each understand the harrowing experience of texting and driving all too well— in a typical, flawless stream of consciousness Herzog fashion—coupled with impeccably sparse, lucid shots and genuinely moving interviews; stripped back to expose the rawest intimacy of those effected. Among the perpetrators and victims, we meet Valetta, the mother of a now semi-paralyzed Xzavier, and Chandler Gerber, who killed three people while texting behind the wheel. Rather than being preachy, graphic or tinging stories with hyperbolic detachment, Herzog manages to create a striking, haunting portrait of families who have experienced a thunderous ripple in their lives at the hands of rogue texting drivers. 

“Things can happen so quick, it’ll change your life forever,” warns Chandler Gerber. Take 30 minutes out of your time to watch; this will stay with you.

Via Slate.

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