But First, Coffee.

Finding the Sugar Man

by R.F.

         Obtained from www.igossip.com

Everyone loves a good treasure hunt; especially one with twists and turns. And who isn’t touched by a miracle story? When I first stepped into the Paramount theatre in Austin, Tx, having been told I was about to see a documentary about a musician from the 1970’s, I was expecting neither.

I was visiting Austin to enjoy the 2012 SXSW festival with a friend and her family. The trip was planned last-minute, and we hadn’t purchased the expensive all-access passes to most of what the festival had to offer. As we were touring the city at night, in awe of all the madness going on around us on the famous 6^th Street, a festival volunteer stepped out and offered us four free tickets to a new indie film, Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man. The caption on the ticket said it was the story of “the greatest ‘70s rock icon who never was.” Though I enjoy documentaries, being a member of the latter half of Generation Y, I was expecting the over-glorification of some random old rocker who slammed on his guitar to the music of a time period I couldn’t connect with. What I discovered completely blew my mind.

When I first began writing this piece, I originally said that Searching for Sugar Man tells the true story of Sixto Rodriguez, a lower-class Detroit native with an extraordinary gift for music. I found that I couldn’t describe the film well after saying that, however, because really the film tells the story of the story of Rodriguez. After all, for a long duration of the film, the life of Rodriguez remains a juicy mystery. The story revolves around a diligent search by two of Rodriguez’s biggest fans, who want to absorb every clue they can to find out: Who exactly was this musician? And why did he, according to rumor, commit suicide onstage by lighting himself on fire?

His producers found him unspeakably gifted. I remember one of them saying in an interview on the film that Rodriguez’s musical skill level weighed in around that of Bob Dylan. Check out some of the lyrics to Rodriguez’s song, Sandrevan Lullaby, from his album, Coming From Reality:

“Judges with meter maid hearts

Order super market justice starts

Frozen children, inner city

Walkers in the paper rain

Waiting for those knights that never came

The hi-jacked trying so hard to be pretty

Night rains tap at my window

Winds of my thoughts passing by

She laughed when I tried to tell her

Hello only ends in goodbye”

Producers were shocked to find that Rodriguez’s music cultivated little to no success. The nation was, and remains, oblivious to his talents. Ask any American adult; no one will know Rodriguez’s music.

But a seed was planted across the sea. Somehow a bootlegged copy of one of Rodriguez’s two albums reached South Africa, and a fire was lit - his music was a sensation! It was so well-received, in fact, that it’s said a Rodriguez record could be found in every household in South Africa. The war against Apartheid was raging at the time, and Rodriguez’s antiestablishment lyrics, such as those in the song “Establishment Blues,” helped encourage South Africans to take a stand and not give up the fight against their overbearing government.

“Garbage ain't collected, women ain't protected

Politicians using people they've been abusing

The mafia's getting bigger, like pollution in the river

And you tell me that this is where it's at”

But how could Sixto Rodriguez be such a sensation in South Africa without gaining any fame in the U.S., his own nation? Who was this man? What kind of life did he live? Why did he supposedly commit suicide? South Africans knew nothing of the origins of Rodriguez; he was an icon, floating cross-legged in a bubble on the album cover for Cold Fact, singing of the plight of inner cities, and of a drug dealer from his hometown nicknamed “the sugar man.”

                                          Obtained from www.betterpropaganda.com

Searching for Sugar Man follows the hunt of two South African fans who are dying to know more; to know something about their musical idol, as Rodriguez’s lack of hometown fame leaves no information concerning his life, history, or even whereabouts. The fans visit libraries to learn more about the history of the impact of Rodriguez’s albums in South Africa. They analyze lyrics for clues about Rodriguez’s location. They travel to the United States, interviewing and making phone calls to Rodriguez’s previous producers. They even place an ad on a milk carton asking for identification and information about Rodriguez.

Initially their search is full of dead ends. But, what they find at the end of their journey will knock you out of your theatre chair. It kills me not to include a “spoiler alert” and spill my guts about what they find. But you’ll just have to see the film to find out!

I left the theatre that evening, clutching a free poster of Rodriguez I had received at the door, in complete awe. I now consider Searching for Sugar Man one of my favorite films. I have never experienced such a sensation before, witnessing what seemed like something that could only happen in fiction; stumbling upon a real treasure. Upon hearing Rodriguez's music, I, too, wondered how so talented a musician could be so obscure to the world around him. Undoubtedly, however, Rodriguez's lack of recognition has its purpose; his story, I think, is one of the greatest ever untold.


The problem is, of course: Searching for Sugar Man seems to be about as scarce as Rodriguez’s music once was.

I have sifted through the Internet and found less-than-satisfactory information on showings of the film in the United States, despite the fact that it was premiered at the 2012 SXSW, Sheffield DocFest, Los Angeles, and Sundance film festivals, according to www.sugarman.com. I have been told via that website that it will air on July 27 in major centers of the U.S., and then the following six weeks in 80 select theaters. There are several people whom I am dying to have see the film, and I would love to see it once again and remember things more clearly. Until then, I must wait and keep an eye out. I highly encourage everyone to do the same! Trust me; you won’t want to miss the wondrous, mysterious, miraculous story of the search for Sixto Rodriguez.