Funny what arrived on my stoop right after the Spike Jonze discovery…Another recent short film collab, this one between director Ramin Bahrani, Werner Herzog, and a plastic bag.

The short film, aptly and simply titled Plastic Bag, dares to imagine the existential journey of this object from supermarket birth to oceanic afterlife. Werner Herzog lends his iconic voice to the narration of the bag’s inner life. We have ITVS to thank for this collab — the film is part of their Future States series, 11 commissioned digital short films that reimagine current issues as they’ll play out in the future.

These shorts of Jonze and Bahrani share nice camera work, futuristic themes, and what looks like directorial freedom, but stylistically they couldn’t be more different. Hardly an industry darling, I’ve heard Bahrani speak at various film events in the past couple years and he came across as demanding, somewhat caustic, and very very smart. I respect him and his work, more so after seeing this short. It’s clever and moving, and both a timely meditation on environmental issues and a Herzogian lament on the pain of life. Ach du lieber Gott!