March 25, 2010

An Entire Life Behind Things

“Plastic Bag” is a short film by Ramin Bahrani, narrated by Werner Herzog, one of 11 short films produced for FUTURESTATES, a critical examination of “What will become of America in five, 25, or even 50 years from today?”

I have yet to see the other ten films, but some thoughts on “Plastic Bag”:

1. American Beauty reference duly noted: remember how that kid in American Beauty said that the plastic bag was the most beautiful thing he’d ever filmed? Bahrani destroys him artistically… completely, utterly, shamelessly destroys poor Ricky, thanks largely to Herzog’s narration. (Unfortunately, I could only find the Family Guy clip in Italian.)

2. The Plastic Beach / Garbage Island allusions are nicely folded into the plot.

3. “Where was I going? Who Was I?” = Gauguin reference? Probably not, but who knows?

4. I found “Plastic Bag” unique in that I was simultaneously able to suspend my disbelief and not believe a word of it. I guess Werner Herzog’s voice strikes me as very anthropomorphic.

5. I can only hope that the script is a close approximation, short of verbatim, of what Werner Herzog is thinking all the fucking time.

6. The film has a particular resonance for me because I’m all about reusable bags; I try not to use plastic bags at all, if I can help it.

7. It’s kind of intense, if you let it be. Then again, it’s just the intoxicating effects of Herzog’s goddamn voice, the apotheosis of the mellifluous matter-of-factness of German inflection…

via Kottke

Bonus pic:

I Lego NY by Christoph Niemann for the New York Times