"Sick Birds Die Easy" (2014 DVD release; 86 min.) is a documentary about a group of misfits and druggies who decide to travel to Gabon, Africa in search of Iboga. You might ask, what is Iboga? As the documentary opens, we get various statements to the effect that Iboga is a powerful hallucinant plant that somehow would cure hard drug addicts of their addiction. Writer-director Nik Fackler gathers a small group of his druggie friends to go to the rain forest in Gabon, Africa (the only place in the world where you can find Iboga), and they'll film the entire experience. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first and foremost, be prepared for one wild and wacky ride! The group's trek into the jungle (to get to the village where they are hoping to partake in an Iboga ceremony) takes a number of unexpected, at times bewildering, turns. It of course makes for good viewing. The movie at a certain point reminded me of the surreal atmosphere that occurs at the very end of "Apocalypse Now", and surreal is certainly a good word to describe this documentary. Unfortunately, Ross Brockley, one of the guys in the group, is pretty much an unlikeable person yet he gets more screen time than anyone else. I suppose credit must go to director Fackler that I felt compelled and intrigued enough that I stuck around to the end to see how it would all play out (the ending 'ceremony'). This movie is not for everyone, and this documentary has gotten widely varying reviews. I was skeptical as I started watching but when all was said and done, it was okay. Not super. Not bad. Somewhere in between.
The DVD release comes with the original soundtrack CD (31 tracks; 52 min.), which is a mix of direct snippets from the movies (including various spoken scenes) as well as other instrumental music of various kinds (mostly guitar noodling; synth-inspired abstracts, etc.). The music is composed by Sam Martin, who is also part of the group traveling to Gabon and featured prominently in the documentary.
Couple of comments: first and foremost, be prepared for one wild and wacky ride! The group's trek into the jungle (to get to the village where they are hoping to partake in an Iboga ceremony) takes a number of unexpected, at times bewildering, turns. It of course makes for good viewing. The movie at a certain point reminded me of the surreal atmosphere that occurs at the very end of "Apocalypse Now", and surreal is certainly a good word to describe this documentary. Unfortunately, Ross Brockley, one of the guys in the group, is pretty much an unlikeable person yet he gets more screen time than anyone else. I suppose credit must go to director Fackler that I felt compelled and intrigued enough that I stuck around to the end to see how it would all play out (the ending 'ceremony'). This movie is not for everyone, and this documentary has gotten widely varying reviews. I was skeptical as I started watching but when all was said and done, it was okay. Not super. Not bad. Somewhere in between.
The DVD release comes with the original soundtrack CD (31 tracks; 52 min.), which is a mix of direct snippets from the movies (including various spoken scenes) as well as other instrumental music of various kinds (mostly guitar noodling; synth-inspired abstracts, etc.). The music is composed by Sam Martin, who is also part of the group traveling to Gabon and featured prominently in the documentary.