Searching for Sugar Man (2012 Oscar winning documentary on Sixto Rogriguez)

The music of 60's funk-folk musician Sixto Rodriguez was relatively lost to time, at least in the U.S., where it had been put on cult-status life support by a handful of people like David Holmes  Come Get It I Got It: Mixed By David Holmes . This documentary, released in theaters, should finally give Rodriguez his due in the states.

The story chronicles Rodriguez's resurrection (both figuratively and almost literally) in South Africa decades after the fact, where unbeknownst to him he had sold over 500,000 album copies even as he worked in obscurity doing construction in Detroit. Not only did he have no idea of his popularity overseas, but he lived an almost homeless-like existence while his would be royalties were siphoned away by greedy record execs and bootleggers.

The film is certainly a documentary on Rodriguez (AKA "Sugarman", a reference from one of his songs), and his music, but is more specifically a documentary on several people within the South African record world who try to find out how this "bigger than Elvis" musician truly lived. Rumors had him committing suicide on stage, and they get the shock of their life when they find out that he is actually still alive.

Some have criticized the film for being more about the "search" rather than the "man" himself, but I find this unfounded. For one, Rodriguez himself is painfully shy, and it is obvious that there are some things that he made off limits in his interviews (his wife, certain aspects of his family, etc.). While his story is amazing, there is only so much of it he is willing to tell, and to a large extent only so much of it that was under his control (to a certain degree he is an innocent bystander to his life's own outcomes). The historical backdrop of how his album had been adopted by the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa is amazing and also had to be told.

Director Malik Bendjelloul ultimately does a nice job balancing the man and the search for the man, his music and its impact on an entire continent. What the music represented and did was just as important as the music itself, and the film is not meant to be an autobiography or 90 minute concert video (although you'll hear enough to be inspired to pick up the soundtrack).

In the end, this documentary highlights what can happen through faith and discipline when it intersects with random chance and the dreams of others. While the choices he made were done only to live life according to his own unique ethos, the surprising results still helped to shape a whole country. An affirming story for all who strive for something and whose efforts seemingly go unnoticed.

Special features include a "making of", as well as commentary and side-discussions with Rodriguez and Bendjelloul. Some minor flaws aside, a 4 1/2 star effort that shows what happens when people become obsessed with trying to share greatness that they believe others have overlooked.