I had intended to check out this movie and feature it here in this series for some time, I had heard nothing but good things about it. It’s Oscar win Sunday night for Best Documentary Feature finally pushed me to watch it, and I couldn’t be happier that I did.
“Searching for Sugar Man” tells nothing short of a miraculous story. A story that, honestly, I still have a hard time believing. I think that anyone who watches will be amazed and inspired.
In the early 1970s, a young musician named Sixto Rodriguez landed a record contract after being heard playing in a Detroit dive. He released two albums: “Cold Fact” (1970) and “Coming from Reality” (1971). Neither of them sold. After “Coming from Reality” flopped, his record label dropped him. The label itself, Sussex Records, wouldn’t be in existence long, either. By 1975 it went out of business.
Rodriguez was a never was.
Halfway around the world, though, an amazing thing happened. Apparently, one of the few people who had bought the album traveled with it to the country of South Africa. From there, bootleg tapes began to circulate, and requests to local radio DJs forced stations to order pressings. His music spoke to the repressed teens of the Apartheid culture, who felt powerless to change the oppressive government they lived under. The government found his music to be subversive, and banned several tracks from public play, which only added to the buzz surrounding his albums. The music spread until it reached the pinnacle of popularity within the country.
In South Africa, Rodriguez became more popular than Elvis Presley. More popular than the Rolling Stones. Second only perhaps to The Beatles.
As Apartheid was an isolationist regime, the citizens of the country weren’t well connected to the news and culture of the rest of the world. So, although everyone had Rodriguez’ two albums and loved the music, no one knew anything about him. There was no information about him on the albums themselves, and since he was a flop in the States (unbeknownst to South Africans), they never heard anything about him through the global news that they did receive. In fact, the rumor that he had committed suicide during a concert took hold to the point where it was considered fact.
Decades later though, in the late 90s, after the fall of Apartheid and with the advent of the internet, two fans began searching for information about him. They wanted to learn of his fate, they wanted to learn who he really was. That journey of discovery is the basis for the film.
“Searching for Sugar Man” is set to a sound track of Rodriguez’ music, which indeed is very cool (to me, he sounds almost similar to Jim Croce). His plaintive music will play as the filmmakers roll shots of cityscapes by, in between the interview and narration segments. It’s a well produced movie, and they set up the story nicely by thoroughly laying out the situation before embarking on the search portion of the film.
It’s the results of the search that will blow your mind about the miracles of life. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I will say that this film will astonish you with what happens. The improbabilities, the triumph, and the joy of this movie are something that it’s hard to put words to. You may have to expand your thinking about the possibilities of the world in order to comprehend it. To call it heartwarming is a severe understatement…
It’s absolutely worthy of the Academy Award, and certainly worthy of your time.
Yeah this looks amazing. Can’t wait to see it.
It’s awesome, man. Such a great documentary… definitely check it out!
Well then. I know what I’m doing this weekend. I too wanted to catch this before the Oscars but apparently had other things to do. Great review Fogs!
Yeah, dude. If you had any interest at all, let me push you towards it. Thats a great great story. Amazing stuff. Seriously.
Fabulous write-up Fogster! I was going to overlook this one but after the Oscar and your great score, I’ll definitely check it out. Sounds superb!
Yeah, Mark. This movie was phenomenal. It was well done… but the story is just incredible. For real, its a remarkable remarkable story.
Great review man. I’d seen a few reviews of this and was intrigued but it’s definitely rocketed up my must-watch list.
I think the only way I could see someone NOT liking it would be if they didnt like documentaries. Otherwise, this is an astounding story. You really should check it out.
I really want to see this. My coworker raved about this like a year ago and I still haven’t got around to it. Thanks Fogs!
Glad to remind you. And if you do check it out, I’ll have been glad to spread the word. This one is really very very worthy.
Sounds good Fogs! I felt the same way when I saw Bill Cunningham doc, sounds like Sugarman also had an intriguing subject with a life story worth telling.
Absolutely. Well put.
While I have yet to watch this I have heard nothing but good things about it. I had people coming up to me and talking about the film when I was at the park with my boy the other day.
LOL. People going out of their way to talk to you about it? Sounds like something’s trying to tell you to check this one out.
Its worth your time, buddy, when you get the chance, definitely pull the trigger!
I saw the story on 60 Minutes, I think it was 60 Minutes? Anyway, hard to believe how he lived between the before and after of his life! A real Cinderfella!
Yeah, right? A total miracle story. I think I’d have a hard time believing it too, if it wasnt non fiction. I mean, if this is a fictional movie, you’re leaving going “no wayyyyy” right? LOL
Even though I have yet to see it, I have to admit I was kind of surprised to see this take home the Oscar. The Academy seems to love the heavy-hitters, and this was up against some stiff competition. Sounds like a great doc though, and I can’t wait to watch it now that it’s on DVD.
I havent seen the others, so I cant comment on the field as a whole… but I can say, individually? Hell yes, this movie deserved an Oscar. Oh man, yeah.
Definitely worth checking out. I’m sure that you’ll like it Eric.
Oddly enough this was only film that I decided to do some research on following the Oscars. He has a very compelling story and I’m really looking forward to watching this. I’ll be sure to leave a comment after I’ve seen this.
Cool, man!
I hope knowing the story doesnt spoil the film for you though. That was a big part of it for me, I know that much!
You’re not the first person I’ve seen to give this such a raving review and high score. I’m glad this one won Sunday night.
Totally worth checking out if you get the chance, T. It’s a very uplifting movie, and you may wind up downloading a bunh of music afterwards. LOL
Sounds like an interesting one. Wonder if this will lead to a record label picking up the rights to his old albums?
They actually released a soundtrack to the movie that has all the tunes from the movie on it. I know that.
Aside from that, I would probably be venturing into spoiler territory
Thank you for this review because it made me go out and watch it and man were you right! I didn’t think it could live up to this raving review, honestly, but you are absolutely right! How can something like this happen? And him, as a person, is even more amazing to me. What an incredible story about an incredible guy who makes incredible music!
There we go! LOL Did you find yourself downloading any music? I know I did.
That story IS sooooo unbelievable, isnt it? I swear, if it were a fictional script, no Hollywood studio would touch it. Theyd all be like “Get Real” LOL
AMAZING.
Anyways, glad you checked it out, and glad you enjoyed it Nicole!!
Great review, thanks for bringing this one to my attention.
It’s worth checking out if you get the chance… very uplifting!
Finally got around to watching this last night. What an amazing story! Mind. Blown. I’ve been listening to his music all morning. I cannot understand how it flopped here. I blame the record company.
Yeah, right? Something was definitely wrong there. LOL. Sounds as if (obviously) they were ripping him off on foreign royalties, too.
Evil corporations….
Anyways, that story IS crazy, isnt it? Literally hard to believe, even though its true!
Great movie!