Lost and found

"Searching for Sugarman" was every bit the film worthy of its 2013 Oscar win for Best Documentary, as judged by our CineVerse members who parsed through the picture yesterday. Here's a recap of our group discussion of this movie:

WHAT DID YOU FIND DIFFERENT, EXCITING, ENTERTAINING AND MEMORABLE ABOUT THIS DOCUMENTARY?

·       It’s constructed like a mystery that needs to be solved, and the mystery is universally appealing to almost all viewers because the subject, Rodriguez, is known to almost no one; unlike other documentaries that may focus on a well-known, familiar topic, person or issue, we come with no baggage, preconceived notions or biases about this musician. In this way, it builds intrigue naturally and organically.

·       It’s constructed in a classic three-act format that’s fairly easy to follow: the first act emphasizes the efforts of two South African rock aficionados, Stephen Segerman and Craig Batholomew-Strydom as well as the background surrounding the release and content of Rodriguez’s two albums, how they were received in South Africa, and the censorship and apartheid of that time. Act two centers on the search for this elusive, enigmatic musician. Act three focuses on the artist himself, who appears onscreen in new interviews with his daughters.

·       It forces us to ask several questions: “What if: what if Rodriguez had been appreciated in his time and made it big—what impact would he have had on the American music scene?” “What is the nature of being a celebrity, and is striving to be one really all it’s cracked up to be?

·       As Miami Herald critic Rene Rodriguez put it: “Searching for Sugar Man is a testament to how music — or painting or literature or any form of art — can take on a life far greater than its creator intended when it happens to connect with the right people at the right time."

·       It comes with a built-in soundtrack of songs by Rodriguez that heightens the intrigue and makes us appreciate an overlooked artistic talent through the prism of rediscovery. Most good documentaries use carefully selected music to punctuate themes, evoke an emotional reaction in viewers and form a contextual connection between what we see and what the filmmakers want us to feel. What better music to do this than Rodriguez’s own tunes?

·       It features computer animation montages of Rodriguez in Detroit (which segues seamlessly into live action footage), the money trail chart, and Rodriguez arriving at the South African airport. These animation sequences fill in the gaps visually where live action footage does not exist.

CRITICS HAVE ALSO POINTED OUT A FEW FLAWS AND DEFICIENCIES IN THIS FILM. CAN YOU CITE ANY?

·       There could have been more of an investigation and scathing indictment of the powers that profited from Rodriguez—in other words, they could have followed the money trail closer to indict the exploiters.

·       The film also leaves out Rodriguez’s history, connections and impact in Detroit.

·       Arguably, the film doesn’t ask hard-hitting journalistic questions, such as why he so quickly fell off the face of the earth, why his music didn’t sell, the mother of his three daughters, how he got his name, etc.

WHAT IS THIS FILM ABOUT, THEME WISE?

·       Redemption for an overlooked artist.

·       A Cinderella, rags to riches story.

·       Solving a mystery and asking probing questions about the nature of art, fandom, appreciation, celebrity and the music business.

·       How a person can be built into a myth and the truths hidden behind that myth.