"I wish you had created me so I could die."

There's just something about a plastic bag blowing in the wind. American Beauty essentially won the Oscar for Best Picture by recognizing this fundamental truth, and now comes an 18-minute existential short film, masterfully narrated by Werner Herzog, in which a plastic grocery bag goes in search of its maker. It helps to be in the right mood for this, but evidently I was when I watched it this morning. Herzog isn't the narrator exactly, but more the inner voice of the discarded bag. Like any good existential tale, it's beautiful, thought provoking, a little cheesy, and a little bittersweet. Herzog is such a loon in real life that initially his voice has a strictly comedic effect, but the earnestness of Herzog's voice ultimately gives this piece a genuine sense of purpose. Also, note that Herzog, a fantastic director in his own right, only lends his voice to this effort. The film, Plastic Bag, is actually the creation of Ramin Bahrani.



A few hours after I watched this, I went for a walk and took this picture:



I'm not gonna say I cried, but I'm not gonna say I didn't, either.