Searching For Sugar Man: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Sixto Rodriguez is a man that you probably never heard of. He’s a musician from Detroit that played the local bars in the 70’s and was on track to becoming a superstar. He was discovered by music producers and was signed to a record deal. He recorded an album and unfortunately it didn’t sell. When the dust settled he was nowhere to be found and no one knew what happened to him. Somehow a copy his album became available in South Africa and little by little it ended up becoming an anthem for the people. He started to garner a great amount of popularity and fame except no one has heard from him or anything else about him. Fast forward twenty odd years and two men from South Africa decide to find out exact what happened to Rodriguez and if he’s even still alive. Their detective work leads them to a discovery that they never expected.
As soon as I started this documentary and heard Rodriguez’s vocals the first thing I said to myself was “Wow! How is it that I’ve NEVER heard of this guy before?!”. His voice was similar to Bob Dylan but with a Latino flair to it. He sang of the troubles of the poor and his experiences in Inner City Detroit. As a kid I grew up in the “not so great” part of town and hearing his lyrics immediately took me back to those days. This man is a fantastic singer/songwriter and it saddens me to know that it has taken this long for him and his music to be appreciated but I’m happy that now with the help of this excellent documentary and story that he is now getting everything that he once deserved in the 70’s. From the story that is told about Rodriguez you see immediately that this man was so humble and when things didn’t go his way he went back to a “regular” life of doing manual labor and trying to provide for his family and it amazes me that on the other side of the world things were completely different and he was looked at as a man with a message for the people. People really loved this man and I can see why. From beginning to end this has to be one of the best and most meaningful documentaries that I’ve seen in a long while. The mystery and suspense regarding his whereabouts kept me intrigued and glued to the screen the entire time. The underlining message that I took from this film was that as a musician you may not think your music matters or that anyone is listening to it but in the end all it takes is for it to reach that one person and it could mean everything to them. Sony was kind enough to send me the soundtrack to this film as well and I can say that it hasn’t left the CD player in my car since I’ve gotten it. I’m gracious to have been exposed to the musical talents of Rodriguez and would definitely without a doubt recommend this film.
Special Features:
An Evening With Malik Bendjelloul and Rodriguez – A really nice feature with Rodriguez playing a few tunes and talking with the director.
Making Sugar Man – The director gives his thoughts on the film making process and some of the interviews conducted in the film.
Searching For Sugar Man is available January 22nd from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
