Searching for Sugar Man

An interesting story in a well driven story and high quality cut. However, it tries to be much more epic than what it actually is.

An unlikely and interesting story that is part historical, part investigation and ultimately satisfying. The historical backdrop of South Africa's dictatorship years and of the lack of communication it had with the outside world are key in understanding why this strange story could happen in the first place.

An endlessly fascinating and compelling story involving Rodriguez, a talented American singer-songwriter that should have been a household name, but instead quickly faded into obscurity. Long rumored to have died under tragic circumstances, his music develops a cult following among the Afrikaner youth. Rebelling against the oppressive and isolationist system of Apartheid, Rodriguez's music becomes a soundtrack for their lives. The documentary unfolds like a mystery story with unexpected twists and turns along the way. As the audience is taken on this journey, we are introduced to Rodriguez's songs (including some previously unreleased material) which while reminiscent of Bob Dylan and other artists on the scene in the early 1970s, the music is distinctly his own. A must see documentary for music fans.

This is probably the most enjoyable documentary film I've ever seen. It's about a singer from the 70s whom I've never heard of (although I'm old enough) even though he's clearly a better poet and songwriter than Bob Dylan (yes, I said that and I'm a poet so there's my credentials). If you know anything about the record industry, and about the reality of discrimination in the United States, then it's easy to understand how a Mexican singer/song writer of the 70s was ignored by the payola controlled DJs of the time and screwed by the record industry. The low-budget film itself is full of surprises, and the culmination of the search for Sugar Man is totally uplifting and heartwarming. If you love the music genre, this film is a must see - even if it's only for the delicious sound track.

CinemaSerf7/10

Mar 14, 2024

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This is quite a curious documentary that at times made me wonder if the whole story was an hoax. It's all about Sixto Rodriguez who made a couple of albums in the early 1970s that had some critical acclaim but didn't track at all with the audience. Well not in the USA, they didn't. In South Africa it was rumoured that they shifted almost half a million copies before the singer was reputed to have set himself on fire - live on stage! Now this was long before there would have been any coverage and it seems the story became apocryphal - people claiming to have seen what they didn't. They didn't because the thrust of this piece is that someone has managed to track him down, very much alive and only just retired from working construction in Detroit. Imagine his delight when "Sugar" Segarman - a record shop owner and amateur detective in chief gets the chance to interview him! What ensues offers us a soundtrack of his music - I thought a sort of hybrid of Don McLean and Bob Dylan, whilst we listen to his version of events. A somewhat less exaggerated and newsworthy version at that. Peppered with a few interviews from music journalists along the way, Malik Bendjelloul delivers an intriguing look at this story. Do you believe it or not?