Steve M. Harris Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

Imagine you are a folk rock singer in the early 1970s, who is discovered in a Detroit bar and signed to record deal. You record a couple records and, even though the music is well-received, the records don’t sell and you are dropped from the label and forgotten about. Now imagine that over twenty years later, you find out that, even though your music didn’t sell at home, you have become a best selling and highly influential artist in South Africa, where your music is more popular than Elvis. That is the story of the singer known as Rodriguez. Searching for Sugar Man is one of those documentaries that tells a story that is so unbelievable, that it would be hard to believe if it wasn’t a documentary. Rodriguez became a very popular musician in South Africa, with his songs influencing people to stand up against apartheid. However, nobody really knew who he was and urban legends spread stating that he died years prior. As such, it turned out to be surprise and shock when it was found that he was still alive and well in Detroit and completely unaware of the success he had become. Overall, I would say the film is definitely an amazing story of an apparent failure finding out he is a huge success. Ironically, this very documentary (and its accompanying soundtrack) probably helped Rodriguez to finally see some real success in his home country. 9 | REALLY LIKED IT