Cortechba Overrated

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

timothydmizdrak Being Shot in the head to being lit on fire during a performance, these are the myths that surrounded Rodriguez's death. This documentary tells the story of how Rodriguez came to fame after he thought his career was over. It's a couple South African men who are on a quest to find their favorite artist and the non-stop search. Rodriguez remains positive even though he didn't make it at first and was surprised that he was famous outside of America. It gives multiple sides of the story to find him and even gives the perspective from Rodriguez's daughters. They tell how even though he didn't make it, he went back to working in construction and love what he did even though he wasn't making money. When the producers first heard of him they thought they had an instant star, but for some reason in the United States he didn't make it at all. The producers were devastated for him and was really surprised when they found out when he was big in South Africa. The Film does a great job of having his music playing in the background to really show how great his music was. The film also does a great job of using the iPhone app to film part of the music when he ran out of money. You can't even tell that there was a difference in filming equipment throughout the film, and that gives the editing in the film a masterpiece.

kleto Rodriguez: the most mysterious artist that no one knew about. Rodriguez was not known about in America, even though he is from Detroit and still lives in Detroit. He release his two albums and no one bought them in America, but in South Africa he was even bigger than Elvis Presely. The documentary Searching for Sugar Man was amazing and shows America about an artist that was very unknown in this country that loves their music. The film depicts a journalist trying to figure out the truth about what actually happened to Rodriguez and why there was no information on him. The documentary was directed by Malik Bendjellou and was done in a suspenseful sort of way that, if the view does not know who Rodrigues is, then they are always wondering "well, what happened to him?" Using only his music throughout the film was done to really turn you on to his music. The stories of Rodriguez throughout this film are very interesting and makes you wonder throughout the film, "who is this guy and why have I never heard of him," because you listen to his music and it is amazing. Throughout the film, there were so many rumors about how he actually died or if he even died at all ranging from suicide by handgun to lighting himself on fire and no body actually knew what had happened to him I would highly recommend you to watch this documentary on him and for you to listen to his music because it has a such an amazing sound to it.

kywi-45612 Coming from the standpoint of someone who did not know who the musician Rodriguez was prior to watching the film Searching For Sugarman, I personally had a very different perception of this film. Searching For Sugarman is a documentary surrounding the mysterious story of Rodriguez- a singer/songwriter who, despite his artistic excellence, could not seem to succeed in the American music industry, however, become "bigger than Elvis" in South Africa. While the film revolves around finding out whether Rodriguez is dead or alive, Benjelloul takes the audience on journey from diving into his unfortunate beginning, to his rumored suicide in front of thousands after a performance. Benjelloul initially presents Rodriguez in a very cryptic way; and as a viewer who didn't know Rodriguez, I spent a lot of the beginning of the film in a complete rut trying to figure out who he was. The film opens with dialogue from Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman- a record shop owner in South Africa- who introduces Rodriguez by means of communicating the impact that Rodriguez had on the entirety of South Africa. Segerman's introduction of Rodriguez sets the tempo of the film in how all of the opening characters speak of Rodriguez's borderline godly impact on the people of South Africa. However, Benjelloul's purposefully parallels Rodriguez's impact on South Africa along with how little people knew about him in United States to create a sense of suspense. The audience is constantly wondering who he is, while simultaneously being guided into joining "the hunt" for Rodriguez. If you don't know who Rodriguez is, you are almost inclined to jump out of your seat and try to find him yourself.

CSauc ***SPOILER ALERT*** Searching for Sugar Man, directed by the late Malik Bendjelloul, tells a story that would be considered a modern fairy tale. Rodriguez is introduced as a mystery, a prophet, and untraceable man. The mystery is built up by using low key lighting, shadows, and foggy images. Sound is used to create an eerie feeling, build up excitement, or lack of sound highlights the importance of a scene. Playing Rodriguez's actual soundtrack, makes the audience realize the true beauty in his music, and wonder why he never made it in the music industry. While the audience wants the mystery to remain unsolved, it is slowly revealed that he is in fact not dead, but alive. Even though his story is unraveled, Rodriguez is still portrayed as mysterious by not showing his full face often, wearing sunglasses, dark clothes, and by following him to places without destinations. This beautiful story is effectively told by using real footage and cartoon animations, not only to keep the audience interested, but also to make the beginning of the film a puzzle. The lack of filters, mise-en-scene, and costuming add to Rodriguez's down to earth persona and authenticity, making it difficult not to like him.Despite Rodriguez's failures, he persevered and continued taking chances, knowing he may not succeed, such as becoming mayor. Rodriguez was not hindered by his failures, he went right back to work and carried good morale; he showed his daughters that even though life had dealt him bad cards, there was still a bigger and better world. Not only does it show the power of perseverance, but it makes you feel tiny; Rodriguez was a legend, but lived his life as a "failed" American rock star. This film highlights the importance of accepting failures, not allowing them to hinder your life and that the world is a much bigger place.