Searching For Sugarman

Searching For Sugarman (2012) is an extraordinary documentary about an obscure Detroit musician who was all but forgotten in the US, but whose music would go onto create a rock legend in South Africa. His music is used in the soundtrack obviously for the film, and it shows that he was a talented songwriter and musician. His songs were about America at a turning point in the late 60s and early 70s, and are full of great imagery and insight. The less you know about the story , the better since there are some twists and turns that if you are ignorant of are integral to the impact of the story. I also enjoyed the cinematography of Detroit and South Africa. It is up for an Academy Award for Best Documentary this year, and is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a while.

Comments

[Edward]

Cool - Sophia and I saw this after I heard about it on a local radio station, and although I missed out on the surprise element I still found it to be moving and inspirational viewing. When I get my act together I'll buy the soundtrack (-I know its a bit quaint to buy music nowadays, but I guess Rodriguez deserves some financial success from his career).

[Edward]

Actually, Rodriguez toured Australia in the late 70's early 80's, and released Australian/NZ only albums. He was nevertheless obscure enough for me never to have heard of him ( - my muso friend did know him though). He toured with Midnight Oil, and in fact a quick Youtube search reveals an amature recording of him singing an Oil's song just last year at the Sundance Film Festival.

[MC]

Cool, I didn't know about the Australia success, perhaps they left it out on purpose?

[Edward]

It might have complicated the story a bit, and I suppose detract from the fairytale. He was never a superstar here, but I guess his music has been gradually re-discovered and has now built up critical mass.