Searching for Sugar Man

source: Searching for Sugar Man

I wasn't going to make time to see "Searching For Sugar Man" when I first heard about it. I'm not a music person. I don't have a CD collection. I listen to music, but I don't love any one musician. I don't even commit to a favorite genre. So, why would I subject myself to an hour and a half documentary about a musician I've never heard of? But, the reviews I found on-line were very favorable. The presentation of the subject sounded interesting to me. And to be honest, I didn't really believe the story could be true. By the time the screening date arrived, I had to go see this "real fairy tale". Wow. Just. Wow. Thank you, Malik Bendjelloul, for giving me the opportunity to hear this amazing story. Thank you, Camilla Skagerstrom, for showing how much stunning cinematography can add to a story about a poverty stricken man from Detroit. The following does contain spoilers….so, if you are going to see the movie…. stop reading here and go see it. But, if you are not sure you want to spend your hard earned cash to watch this documentary, please read on….because seriously? You are missing out if you don't see it. In case you don't know the story, I'll give you just a little background. Rodriguez, a song writer/singer in the 70s was 'discovered' by a couple of white guys, in a smoke filled Detroit dive bar. (His music reminds me somewhat of Bob Dylan's) A couple of albums were produced in the U.S.….the albums didn't make it big….in fact, not many sold. Rodriguez went back to working his day job and that was the end of that. However, in the very isolated South Africa, Rodriguez's music became a phenomenon compared to Elvis or the Beatles. His music was a solace for so many Africans fighting the war on Apartheid. Rodriguez didn't know anything about the South Africa portion of his story. "Searching for Sugar Man" is a documentary made about two South Africans searching for information about a mysterious American songwriter, who had a huge impact on their lives, but no one seemed to know anything about. This IS a real fairy tale. One you have to see to believe. One that can restore your faith in humanity, and possibly change the way you see fame and fortune. One that will remind you that you never know how far reaching your daily actions may be. Wow. Just. Wow.

OK. I was not familiar with Rodriguez before this doc. He has some interesting tunes, some with very poetic lyrics and an interesting voice -no doubt he was talented. To place him in any league with Bob Dylan is a major stretch. There's a lot of gaps in the man's history that, for some reason, the writers didn't want to cover: how he got to the States, his wives, did he have a drug problem, why did he quit performing...? Why weren't any of the S. African distributors asked if they had their canceled checks or receipts from Sussex Records? Why was the live concert footage absolutely horrific when Rodriguez performed many times after being "found"? There's also no mention of any attempt of Rodriguez to follow up the original early '70s album releases with any performances. Why not keep going? Many artists fail for many years, but they keep at it. Something happened that is not talked about. It's an interesting story, but there are too many gaps and non-disclosures for me personally.

A KVIFF viewing of this demystifying documentary of a miracle would never find a copycat in the digital-era, Rodriguez "The Sugar Man", an American minstrel in the 1970s who has sold a sensational figure of records in South Africa while being exclusively oblivious in USA, and when rumor says he died in a suicide attempt while performing it on stage, the story seems to reach its cul-de-sac. But two South Africans, take the onerous task to dig out the mystery behind (including the director himself), and eventually the truth has been disclosed in a quite satisfying way both on screen and off screen. First of all, Rodriguez's songs (from his albums COLD FACT 1970, COMING FROM REALITY 1971, and a piece from his never-released third album) have prevailed in the entire film's narrative, which after a first-time listening, feels more affinity with Bob Dylan's Folk Rock tunes, most of which pertain to lower-class or working-class self-inspection, definitely have their own mark of time. The poignancy has been simmered halfway through when the story has a dramatic twist and leads to the second half of the film into a different angle of revelation, an enigmatic * figure's condescendence into the real world. And a poetic license has to be introduced to his personal life as de-iconization is always a tough call to make. Then, about what prompted Rodriguez's case so unique? The film seems to be a bit withdrawn in unraveling the real reason behind it (a deliberate conspiracy theory is never in the picture), indeed, even there were merely 40 years before, we already have forgotten how things stand at then, and this could be a scarier discovery. By the way, the film has a very audience-friendly approach, and if you are a music enthusiast, this film will be a delectable choice to be enchanted by the pure magic of music.

Talented Detroit troubadour could have been a star, but his 1970s albums fail to sell and he is consigned to a life of obscurity and hard labor, until rediscovered by millions of adoring fans he never knew he had. This is inspiring stuff, a moving feel-good movie with a detective plot, as a record store owner and a journalist hunt down the enigmatic Rodriguez, whose album Cold Fact made him an anonymous superstar in South Africa. This is a great piece of manipulative filmmaking, but as a documentary it asks more questions than it answers, and never lets the facts stand in the way of a good story. First up we are told Rodriguez was more famous than the Rolling Stones in South Africa, artistically his only peer was Bob Dylan, and he was a leading inspiration in the struggle against apartheid. Come on. Really? Then, based on unsubstantiated guesstimates from "half a million" to "millions" of album sales, the film asks where the royalties went, but doesn't follow through. They interview Rodriguez, who surely could have answered this question, along with many others, but we see little of the man himself, except for wistful shots of him looking out a window, while his daughters and the South Africans do most of the talking. I wanted to see Rodriguez, but this becomes more a story of the South Africans and their feeble attempts to track him down. These included putting his picture on milk cartons and spreading rumors of his self-immolation on stage, which sounded more like attempts to promote the myth ahead of his tours of South Africa. Also, the movie implies Rodriguez was unheard of outside South Africa, but Cold Fact was also popular in Australia, where Rodriguez toured in the late 70s and then with Midnight Oil. I know, I was a fan and had a copy of the album, as did most of my friends. We are also told he survived his life after music by working as a demolition man. Nice hard luck story, but an internet search reveals he was also a teacher and social worker, and the movie quickly passes over his graduation from university. Rodriguez was a unique talent, I loved his music, and this film does a great job of giving this humble man the recognition he deserves. It is a moving cinema experience and well worth seeing, but this is faction as much as fact, which is carefully excised to fit the myth.

An enjoyable film overall. However, as a self-promoted "documentary", it falls short in quite a few key areas: * it perpetuates the myth that after the release of his 2nd album in 1971 he received no recognition and effectively retired from performing. The film selectively omits the facts that he was very popular in Australia throughout the 70's and toured there in 1979 and 1981. He was equally popular in New Zealand and other African countries. * in Australia an album entitled "Alive" was released shortly after his last tour. This title suggests that many people(and I would imagine it includes the touring party) must have known South Africans believed he was dead .. and the film does not explain how such a mystery of his death could have survived for 17-odd years after the release of this album * the "documentary" fails to explain how copies of the album were actually made and distributed after Sussex folded. It takes time to describe a "follow-the-money" strategy employed by a musicologist ... but really does not properly describe the findings. Perhaps the truth would have diluted the story in the film? * the film tells us Rodriguez, after six concerts in South Africa, went back to virtual obscurity. In fact, he toured extensively abroad in the 2000's, including many returns to Australia. * we learn nothing of the mothers of his daughters, including anything of his relationship with them. For an artist who has composed many breathtakingly beautiful love songs, this omission is most remarkable for a "documentary" Despite this I still enjoyed it ... thanks mostly to the inclusion of Rodriguez's hypnotic music and voice.

Honestly i felt a little abused by this Documentary. I think the story is great, it is a very nice subject with a very large panel of possible angles, directions. And what we have here is a succession of clichés, fanatics that keeps telling that everything was "the best thing of their life", that Rodriguez arrived on earth to play the best music of humanity, to save a country... Catchy screen effects, unnecessary romantic descriptions, dramatic silences in the middle of testimonials... I think it is sad, because once again i think this is a very interesting and colorful story, but completely ruined by the choice of making a superhero movie out of it. I don't think it needed that.

Saw this film in the Hamptons, Rodriguez was the surprise special guest. He still sounded like the recordings made over 40 years ago. This astonishing documentary garnered a standing ovation from the audience. The film is put together in a crafty manner, with great visuals and interviews. If Rodriguez originally recorded in the 1990's it would be very hard to "disappear," especially with the advent of the coming Internet, but since his story starts in the 60's and ends in the 70's for about half a decade, it would be easy just to disappear. The songs on the soundtrack are brilliant. This film is a contender for best documentary at the 2012 Oscars. Keep on singing Rodriguez. **********

While "Searching for Sugar Man" is, more than anything else, unquestionably a testament to Rodriguez's craft and humility, it is frankly manipulative to suggest that he had no popularity anywhere but South Africa. I have personal memories of "Cold Fact" being an integral part of the musical soundscape in Australia during the early to mid 70's, particularly in the surfing community, and he was popular there before he caught on in South Africa. He actually toured Australia in 1979, and in 1981 he opened for Midnight Oil on their Australian tour. The message of Rodriguez's musical journey is undeniable but the filmmakers' omission of facts to make a sensational story even more sensational, is crass.

Rodriguez (Sugarman), is one of the greatest men I have ever known. This isn't a review, at least I don't consider it one; I don't review on IMDb, and there's a good chance I never will; but I feel compelled to leave my experience and thoughts, though briefly, here. I saw this movie today knowing nothing about the subject material or the man himself; after leaving the theatre into a dimming sunset I texted my friend "I have a new hero." That is probably the greatest praise I have ever gave a film. Soulful, touching, heartrending and uplifting, this film------ you cannot write this, you cannot make this up, it is a story of true brilliance and daunting inspiration. There is so much to commend, praise, remark about this movie... but honestly I don't want to cite any one thing because it would spoil the experience of watching the story unfold and the mystery of Sugarman being shaped weakened. The bottom line is: It is a story that is too real, poignant, and far-fetched to exist anywhere on a writer's board or in a screenplay; this is why documentaries will never die, and they will always have a reserved place in the realm of cinema, films of fiction and artistry just cannot pierce the depth that this one finds. It is one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen, possibly the greatest. I cried throughout the picture. A must-see. I write this review with the intention that I hope to encourage others to go see this movie: If you do you won't regret it and if you see it years later on television, you'll regret you didn't take the chance when you had it.