Searching For Sugar Man
Cast: Stephen Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Sixto Rodriguez,
Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy, Mike Theodore
Director: Malik Bendjelloul
Running time: 86 min.
Prior
to seeing this film, I have to admit I had never even heard of Sixto Rodriguez,
the subject matter of Searching for Sugar Man, let alone had
any interest in his music.
He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942, known simply as Rodriguez - and was a singer/songwriter some enthusiasts compared to Bob Dylan, vocally more mellow but with the same lyrical talents and some nifty guitar playing. However, despite his obvious ability, he failed to achieve any fame in his home country the United States. His two albums released through Sussex Records in the early 1970s hit brick walls with critics and audiences, and his name quickly plunged into obscurity. However, despite this, he was elevated to cult status and ultimately adulation in South Africa.
That is the core of Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary, how one society’s rock 'n' roll idol can be another society’s street sweeper. Rodriguez took local general jobs in Detroit while his albums went stratospheric in demand in Cape Town, as he was one of many philosophical politically angled artists who sparked something in that culture that would eventually contribute hugely to the end of Apartheid.
Rodriguez didn’t know he was a man of change to those people. Likewise, the people of South Africa had no idea who Rodriguez was, how successful – or not given the matter at hand – he was outside of their country, or even if the man was still alive.
Without wishing to create a spoiler, as it’s a delightful surprise within the film when the revelation occurs - it has to be stated that Sixto Rodriguez is still alive. Various colourfully spectacular rumours of his suicide reached Cape Town, each one more anarchist and rock and roll than the last, but none of the rumours match up with real life. Rodriguez still lives in Detroit in a broken down building, still works in the construction industry and does other maintenance jobs – but he still hasn’t caught that rock ‘n‘roll star bug that has given the likes of The Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley the keys to the kingdom – Rodriguez’s albums sold better than either of them in South Africa. Paul McCartney may well roll up to do his shopping in a limousine. Sixto Rodriguez treks through snow to pick up his groceries.
It’s a sad story which Benjelloul takes us through with Searching for Sugar Man, each scene, every new direction this incredible story takes is matched delicately with one of Rodriguez’s songs. Songs like “Crucify Your Mind” and “Street Boy” help make you aware of how his great talents juxtapose with details of an understanding that this man is not, in any way, one of the chosen few who finds fame and fortune at the end of the artistic tunnel. The story of the tragic artist is one we’ve heard a thousand times before, but none end with the artist discovering he is, indeed, a legend, a revered, golden god of rock, a man who changed people’s lives with his music and lyrics. He just didn’t know about it until the late 1990s.
Searching for Sugar Man is a stupendous documentary, extremely moving, humbling and genuinely uplifting. As the story gradually unfolds, the viewer becomes caught up in the music and politics of it all, all the while wanting nothing more than to watch this man perform live. There are so many documentaries and biopics about musicians we know, household names whose fame could easily be taken for granted. Searching for Sugar Man is about the other guys, those artists who never quite make it, and this one singer/songwriter in Detroit who became a legend and didn’t even know about it.
It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see this man’s story unfold, to not have the slightest idea who he was at the beginning of the night, to go through the emotions of wondering, like the people in South Africa, if Rodriguez was still alive or dead, if he could still play or even wanted. Weary as he may appear, the man is perfectly content with his place in life. He isn’t jaded and bitter, a mindset it would be so easy to fall into. He’s a kind, gentle man, and his music, whilst slightly dated sound-wise in contemporary terms, lyrically and emotionally is still vivid and valid to this day.
"South Africa made me feel like... more than a prince," Rodriguez says now. He's nervous, quiet and withdrawn in his interviews for Searching for Sugar Man. He just plays his songs and counts his blessings, and it is a pleasure to spend the 90 minutes of this warm, kind film with him.
Rodriguez’ Website: http://www.sugarman.org/index.html
He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942, known simply as Rodriguez - and was a singer/songwriter some enthusiasts compared to Bob Dylan, vocally more mellow but with the same lyrical talents and some nifty guitar playing. However, despite his obvious ability, he failed to achieve any fame in his home country the United States. His two albums released through Sussex Records in the early 1970s hit brick walls with critics and audiences, and his name quickly plunged into obscurity. However, despite this, he was elevated to cult status and ultimately adulation in South Africa.
That is the core of Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary, how one society’s rock 'n' roll idol can be another society’s street sweeper. Rodriguez took local general jobs in Detroit while his albums went stratospheric in demand in Cape Town, as he was one of many philosophical politically angled artists who sparked something in that culture that would eventually contribute hugely to the end of Apartheid.
Rodriguez didn’t know he was a man of change to those people. Likewise, the people of South Africa had no idea who Rodriguez was, how successful – or not given the matter at hand – he was outside of their country, or even if the man was still alive.
Without wishing to create a spoiler, as it’s a delightful surprise within the film when the revelation occurs - it has to be stated that Sixto Rodriguez is still alive. Various colourfully spectacular rumours of his suicide reached Cape Town, each one more anarchist and rock and roll than the last, but none of the rumours match up with real life. Rodriguez still lives in Detroit in a broken down building, still works in the construction industry and does other maintenance jobs – but he still hasn’t caught that rock ‘n‘roll star bug that has given the likes of The Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley the keys to the kingdom – Rodriguez’s albums sold better than either of them in South Africa. Paul McCartney may well roll up to do his shopping in a limousine. Sixto Rodriguez treks through snow to pick up his groceries.
It’s a sad story which Benjelloul takes us through with Searching for Sugar Man, each scene, every new direction this incredible story takes is matched delicately with one of Rodriguez’s songs. Songs like “Crucify Your Mind” and “Street Boy” help make you aware of how his great talents juxtapose with details of an understanding that this man is not, in any way, one of the chosen few who finds fame and fortune at the end of the artistic tunnel. The story of the tragic artist is one we’ve heard a thousand times before, but none end with the artist discovering he is, indeed, a legend, a revered, golden god of rock, a man who changed people’s lives with his music and lyrics. He just didn’t know about it until the late 1990s.
Searching for Sugar Man is a stupendous documentary, extremely moving, humbling and genuinely uplifting. As the story gradually unfolds, the viewer becomes caught up in the music and politics of it all, all the while wanting nothing more than to watch this man perform live. There are so many documentaries and biopics about musicians we know, household names whose fame could easily be taken for granted. Searching for Sugar Man is about the other guys, those artists who never quite make it, and this one singer/songwriter in Detroit who became a legend and didn’t even know about it.
It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see this man’s story unfold, to not have the slightest idea who he was at the beginning of the night, to go through the emotions of wondering, like the people in South Africa, if Rodriguez was still alive or dead, if he could still play or even wanted. Weary as he may appear, the man is perfectly content with his place in life. He isn’t jaded and bitter, a mindset it would be so easy to fall into. He’s a kind, gentle man, and his music, whilst slightly dated sound-wise in contemporary terms, lyrically and emotionally is still vivid and valid to this day.
"South Africa made me feel like... more than a prince," Rodriguez says now. He's nervous, quiet and withdrawn in his interviews for Searching for Sugar Man. He just plays his songs and counts his blessings, and it is a pleasure to spend the 90 minutes of this warm, kind film with him.
Rodriguez’ Website: http://www.sugarman.org/index.html
