I watch a lot of movies, but I don't necessarily watch many (or really ANY) documentaries. But as a resident of metro Detroit and a music fan, I had to watch "Searching for Sugar Man" especially after it won the Oscar for Best Documentary. And I was not disappointed as it is an excellent movie!
Who is Sugar Man? He is Rodriguez (Sixto Rodriguez, but he's known only by Rodriguez) who is from the "D" and he started performing in clubs in the D back in the late 60s & early 70s. His music (at least to me) sounded like a cross between Jose Feliciano & Bob Dylan as he had the Mexican "voice" of Feliciano and folk sound of Dylan. He also wrote very poetically, as did Dylan. His music is very good. He made a couple of albums which unfortunately didn't sell. And then he disappeared.
Something interesting happened after his disappearance...his records starting selling big in South Africa and some of his songs became a part of the anti-apartheid movement in that country. His music was very well-known and loved there. The South Africans thought he was dead though and even heard such crazy stories about him committing suicide on stage, setting himself on fire, etc. Two curious South Africans began searching for any information regarding Rodriguez and eventually found out that he was alive and still living in the D working as a laborer & even running for city council. The rest of the story I will leave for the viewer to discover.
I found this movie to be very compelling & engaging. It tells a wonderful story about a simple, down-to-earth, working-class, spiritual man. It is very heart-warming. The story somewhat tells itself because it is such an incredible story. That is not taking away anything from the film-making as director Malik Bendjelloul weaves this tale perfectly with the right amount of drama & even suspense. I also enjoyed Rodriguez's music very much as he is a great singer/songwriter.
I really enjoyed this movie...9.0/10 stars
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