Searching for Sugar Man

Searching for Sugar Man is a captivating documentary with an unexpectedly emotional payoff. It presents a totally unique, lost chapter in the history of rock 'n' roll through the story of a fascinating, freak occurrence that could only have happened due to the myriad of circumstances surrounding the music business in the 1970s, the isolation of South Africa during apartheid, and the dedication of a few industrious music fans. 

It would be a totally satisfying film even if the music wasn’t any good, but the songs of the mysterious artist known as Rodriguez—the long-forgotten, never-famous-in-America, singer-songwriter who is the subject of this film—are really terrific. Comparisons to Dylan are inevitable, but I think Rodriguez’s style and humility make him seem much more like a Latino Leonard Cohen.

The film plays like a detective story, introducing us to a series of people who knew or have been touched by Rodriguez. These interviews shed light on the man behind the songs—songs that, in South Africa anyway, meant a great deal to a great many people. The stories and legends that surround the artist are amazing and the film traces the dedicated efforts of the few people who had a passion to unravel the truth about these legends.

Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul has crafted an remarkable picture on his first time out. Yes, this is a special, almost one-of-a-kind story, but Bendjelloul’s structure, his use of the Rodriguez songs, the selection of interview subjects, and the genuine enthusiasm he elicits in them as they retell their stories about Rodriguez and their search for him, are to be commended.