Friday, January 25, 2013

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Year: 2012

Director: Malik Bendjelloul

Cast: Rodriguez, Steve Segerman, 

Country of Origin: Swedish/British 

Rating: PG-13

Time: 86 mins

Searching for Sugar Man is a mesmerizing portrait and hunt for the mysterious American musician named, Rodriguez. Two Cape Town fans try to uncover if Rodriguez in fact did commit the most horrific public suicide on stage by pulling the trigger or setting himself on fire to waves of boo's or if he is in fact alive. Rodriguez's soulful social injustice songs screamed of heartbreak louder than any Bob Dylan song ever could but no one in the U.S. ever heard of him. A wanderer of the dingy dirt roads of Detroit, Michigan, Rodriguez, sang in street bars and shadowy corners with his back turned to the audience so only his voice could be heard. A woman traveled across seas with a boot leg version of Rodriguez's cd to South Africa, where in the midst of apartheid, Rodriguez's voice fueled South Africans' own revoution which made him a bigger musical influence to them than The Rolling Stones. All of which even Rodriguez wasn't aware. Then one day he disappeared.

So, how does one find a man who has no full name, no home, and no friends? With only ghost whispers on the street, where do one even begin? The quest to find him was beyond one of the greatest challenges ever face by music journalist, Craig Bartholomew Strydom. Without any leads, he resorted to find an ounce of a clue in between his lyrics and punctuation. And the pay off makes even the dead crawl out of the worm swamped coffin and into a tap dancing frenzy. It presents the dazzling journey through the tumbleweeds of the music industry and down to the mystery hole where the money goes to die. Searching for Sugar Man is an uplifting and unconceivable account of the man behind the shadows of the night. And it is only until you finally lay your eyes on him, will you be sure that who you're gaping at is not a ghost but a real man. A

p.s. Rodriguez is now slated to play at Coachella 2013!