Search - Brant Bjork: Sabbia on DVD

Love the idea of this...

Don Abel | San Francisco | 08/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"SABBIA
(Italian for 'sand') is a film by Kate McCabe featuring a soundtrack of entirely Brant Bjork's music. I saw this 80-minute documentary/ music video/ dreamy/ psychedelic/ 16mm film at the FilmForum in Los Angeles' Egyptian Theater in June. I have the DVD version on order now.

It was very cool really. A movie in worship of the desert- it's vibe, it's colors, it's moods, it's vast emptiness. At times reminiscent of Godfrey Reggio's 'Qatsi documentaries (Koyaanisqatsi especially) with time- elapse shots of clouds, stars, sun & moon (an homage really to that style), at other times pure rock- showing Brant & The Bros jamming out on the roof of some home in the high desert, and finally- sometimes very funny and disarming with Brant's voice-over/ sense of humor and observation, that occasionally peppers the film.

A real highlight is the near constant use of Brant's music, reaching back to songs from Jalamanta, touching on all his records (except Local Angel), up through Saved By Magic. And the best part of that, is this represents a fraction of the total music used... the rest were demos/ unreleased/ and brand new songs Brant wrote for the movie. And I'll attest they were simply awesome. AWESOME. From faint desert whispers to hard-rocking in those tones uniquely Brant. I hope they're listening/ reading this- because I insist a soundtrack for this movie be released. Or that the content wind up on the next album. Because I MUST have it.

Where the film suffered is- 80 minutes of this is too long. Just too long really. It minimized the punch and impact of the event. If a half hour or so had been shaved off, the many sequences of the movie tightened and kept taut, it would be a movie I could watch again and again probably. Brant had some very funny lines in the movie, his easy-going and perpetually friendly manner shining. The music sounded awesome. The director has an affection for the lead actor/model she cast, the wandering blonde who weaves in and out of the many vignettes of the movie. You'll see.

I'm glad someone stepped up and made something like this, and with Brant's music too? That's PERFECT. Only I wished I had made it first. I don't know where any of you might be able to catch this movie. Unless of course, Duna Records officially releases it on DVD. I think that's a strong possibility as this is, officially, a Duna Movie. Their first. Maybe there'll be more? Thanks Kate McCabe for this experience, I totally dug it, my girlfriend and I..."

I got to Shimmy with my Cousin Kate.

Victor Martorano | Strafford, PA United States | 09/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must start out with a disclaimer. I am related to the director, Kate McCabe. We are cousins. However being related does have its perks and one of them was getting to see Sabbia this summer at a small venue in West Chester, Pennsylvania call REX.

I will admit to being a few (ok, SEVERAL) years older than Kate, but her movie brought me back to my youth and early acid trip videos. The visuals and music are sublime. With nearly no dialogue at all, Sabbia drew me into a dreamy dessert landscape populated by a mysterious young blonde woman. Bjork's music was a revelation.

Am I biased? Yes. So sue me. But I bought this DVD and plan on sharing it with everyone I know of a certain age, who remember.
"

Great music at least.

Fredrik Nytorpe | Helsingborg, Sweden | 06/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this dvd mainly for Brant's music and because i love the feeling and atmosphere of the desert. The music is great, maybe a bit too low key at times. The photography gets somewhat annoying after a while with speedy cuts, a lot of fast forwarding and long shots of a blond girl just walking around in the desert or posing in front of big rocks.

It feels almost necessary to be stoned or extremely tired when watching this movie, otherwise you will get bored out of your mind. At least that's the conclusion me and my friends came up with.

There are some very nice shots in this movie, but the main feeling is just that someone who is into art made like a holiday video or documentary about Brant and the desert.

The one thing i love about this movie is the ability to play the songs in the menu, so you don't have to fast forward in the movie to hear a song you like."