THE MOVIE

Sandman in Siberia is quite an interesting documentary film starring Steve Abbott (probably better known as ‘The Sandman’ from the Triple J breakfast radio show and the television series, Good News Week) and his mother Evelyn Abbott.

The documentary starts at the family reunion of the Efremoff clan. Steve explains that his grandmother left Siberia in 1912 and journeyed across the globe to Australia. There are now 40 Efremoffs living in Australia, but a handful also remain in Siberia.

Steve and his mother Evelyn are planning to travel to Siberia taking photos and greetings in an attempt to find the long lost cousins and reunite a family. It could be the most difficult thing he has had to do in his life. Steve is hoping to meet some of their relatives that he has only ever heard about and find the exact place where his grandmother was born. Rumour has it that one of the ancestral properties could also be located on an oil field.

Neither of them speak Russian, and they have enough trouble ordering food let alone having a meaningful conversation with their relatives. Thankfully Steve and Evelyn are accompanied by a translator called Julia to make things a little easier. Still that doesn’t stop Steve from worrying. Will his relatives be hostile, embarrassed or resentful? Should they really be making a documentary about their trip?

The real question though is will Steve be able to survive 20 days with his mother. She has a habit of talking non-stop. Furthermore, how are they going to bring back a handful of snow for one of their relatives in Australia.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

Sandman in Siberia is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen (16:9 enhanced). It looks at though most of this documentary has been filmed using high-end digital camcorders so the visual transfer is surprisingly good. The level of detail is excellent and image is free of grain or noise. Occasionally some minor pixellation became evident when the camera moves quickly past highly detailed backgrounds, this was especially noticeable during the wide angle shots. The other problem is that some scenes look a little over exposed. Colours look quite good even though Siberia is generally freezing cold and therefore somewhat monochromatic. Thankfully flesh tones are nicely saturated and are realistic in appearance.

Audio:

This DVD comes with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack. The audio transfer is quite good, dialogue by Steve and his mother Evelyn is generally quite clear and there were no noticeable audio synch problems. The music is quite unique, but I must admit it sounded a little eerie to me. Unfortunately there are no subtitles on this DVD. It would have been handy to know what Steve’s relatives were actually saying in their native tongue rather than relying on the translator.

THE EXTRAS

The only extra feature is a photo slideshow, it is an animated picture gallery and the photos have even had the Ken Burns effect applied to them. The photo slideshow is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 channel sound, running time is 3.16 minutes. The main menu is static with looped audio, the only two options available on the main menu are to play the show or view the photo slideshow.

SUMMARY

The Sandman (Steve Abbott) and his mother (Evelyn Abbott) return to their ancestral home in Siberia taking photos and greetings from the Efremoff family in Australia in an attempt to find the long lost cousins and reunite a family. Apparently this was one of the highest rating programs on SBS in 2004. The DVD has a satisfactory visual and audio transfer but a photo gallery is the only extra feature.