filmbore pick of the week - Searching For Sugar Man

Searching For Sugar Man

Director: Malik Bendjelloul
Screenplay: Malik Bendjelloul
Starring: Rodriguez, Stephen "Sugar"Segerman, Craig Bartholomew-Strydom
Year: 2012
Language: English
UK rental release: December 2012

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There are many documentary films out there, and it's sometimes difficult to filter through them all to find stories of interest. I do tend to watch quite a lot, but few have grabbed me more than the fascinating story of the salubrious success of an unknown artist, Rodriguez.

1968 Detroit. Dennis Coffey, who had worked with some of the biggest names in music at the time, was recommended to meet a new up-and-coming artist named Rodriguez. He went to meet him at a smokey bar near the river, close to where the musician worked, to scope him out, discovering who he believed could become another Bob Dylan. 

Rodriguez wrote songs of what he saw around the streets of Detroit. He was a spirit...a wanderer...a mystery. Coffey teamed up with another big producer, Mike Theodore, to record Rodriguez's 1st album, Cold Fact. For some reason, the LP didn't dent the US music scene. Then, Steve Rogen came along to produce the second album, Coming From Reality, which flopped too. This appeared to be the end of his career.

In South Africa however, Rodriguez went through the 70s equivalent of "going viral". From one rumoured source of a cassette of Cold Fact being brought into the the country, copies  were made, spreading amongst the music fans and starting a chain reaction. It wasn't long until nearly every household had a version of Cold Fact.

His songs had a huge impact on a generation struggling to confront an oppressive Apartheid. The lyrics themselves influenced the start of a wave of new alternative Afrikaans artists, further inspiring the youth to stand up against the racial segregation of their nation. Rodriguez was their hero. A stranger to the world, even his home country of America, had become one of South Africa's biggest artists. Cold Fact was the anthem of a generation.

The fame of Rodriguez also brought tales of his demise, of which this film is all about. Many tales of his suicide are prevalent throughout South Africa: some say he doused himself in petrol on stage and set himself on fire, other claim he shot himself in the head at the end of a bad performance, even drug overdoses were speculated. Truthfully, nobody really knows how he died. In South Africa, Rodriguez was (and still is) as big as The Beatles but was still an enigma. There is little information on the artist but there are some who are desperate to find out more.

Enter our first protagonist, record shop owner Stephen "Sugar" Segerman. Heavily involved in getting hold of records by Rodriguez, he tries to use his knowledge of the industry to solve the puzzle. Also, if he was dead, where did all the royalties go? In steps our other sleuth, Craig Bartholomew-Strydom, a music journalist, wanting to investigate the monetary area further. Craig and Sugar decide to pool resources to see if they can crack this conundrum and get closer to the truth. 

And thanks to one specific lyric, and a single post on a website built to locate more on the musician, everything was about to open up...

I'd heard that there had been some great response to this docu-film, which is usually a good sign when trying to sift through all the other picture of the same ilk, due to the difficulty in standing out of what is a complex and suffocating genre. However, I was determined to avoid any material on the piece in order to get sucked into the story. I already feel slightly hypocritical in mentioning too of the plot much above, but if you do choose to read a lot into what I have explained so far, do not fret - I haven't ruined it for you.

What I can say though is that Malik Bendjelloul has ensured that there is a real identity to this picture, allowing it to peek it's head above it's filmic brethren. Every now and then, peeping through the general docu-vibe are brief artistic interludes: sketched photos, animated scenes, cityscapes, calmly segmenting the film into bite-sized chunks, while still permitting a gentle flow to the tale as the mystery of the man is slowly revealed. The more artistic of these i-dents (thanks to Arvid Steen's stylistic animation) are a nice segue between poignant story points, while the sweeping and rising shots of vistas, landscapes and urban environments help to grant the overall piece a truly global feel, which is imperative when understanding the reach this man had across the water.

These moments are usually accompanied by Rodriguez's infectious tunes, fulfilling the persona that this documentary presents you with. Even the beautiful opening shots of the South African coastline are paired with the enigmatic "Sugar Man", the opener to the Rodriguez's first LP. His songs are the entire soundtrack. It's an obvious choice of course, when considering that he is the source material. Yet, not only does this open your mind to his musical talent but it also helps to illustrate the quality of his writing and performing by holding an entire move score with recordings that happened over 40 years ago. Like many legends of musical history, his tunes hold up to this day, and after watching Searching For Sugar Man I am now a self confessed fan of his music.

But not all of you may feel the same. Sure, you'll be able to appreciate his ability as an artist, but music is a different beast. Thankfully, wherever your tastes may place your views, there is another element at play that takes this documentary to a higher state of storytelling - it's a real life detective story.

Perfectly orchestrated from the first words uttered (from Sugar, confessing his believed rumour of Rodriguez's death) we are slowly fed trickles of information. As the scenes move forward, we are treated to discovered photos, but only at a slow and filtered pace, still leaving a shawl of perplexity and riddles attuned our elusive songwriter. As Sugar and Craig explain some of their methods to find out more about their adopted legend, we get to experience their plight alongside them. One intriguing component to their investigations is when they attempt to dissect the song lyrics in order to locate the source for more records, leading to some key moments of discovery.

This desire to unravel the puzzle of a man so famous in their country is the driving force to the entire picture, helping to glue together the pairing of interesting filming and editing, with the charisma and charm of Rodriguez's musical art. 

Bendjelloul has created a wonderfully enriching and emotional documentary thanks to the existence of a wonderful story of an unknown. The reveals are superbly balanced and patiently presented, which is rare in this genre. It's been nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this years Academy Awards, which is always a surprising and challenging category to stand out in. However, I for one think it has a good a chance as any, plus it allows a beautiful tale to get the further recognition it so rightfully deserves. Good luck Rodriguez!

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