Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

tartedav Many people know the names of Michael Jackson, or bands like the Beatles. But very few people will know the name Sixto Rodriguez. He wrote two well received but low selling albums that were only popular in very few places like South Africa. This documentary shows a heartwarming tale about an unknown artist's musical impact on the small population that listened to his music. Music is a unique art form which impacts peoples' lives daily by having the ability to teach someone a new idea while still be entertaining at the same time. This allows it to make positive effects on the world by giving the listeners a good message and help influencing them to possibly help out the world.The director Malik Bendjelloul, puts us through a journey of discovering who Sixto Rodriguez was. This helps you be able to learn who this singer is and what his morals and principles were. Bendjelloul skillfully structures the documentary to make you wonder what happened to this unknown singer. Until finally the search to whatever happens to this singer comes with an unexpected twist. He manages to make you wonder why this man was not popular because his two albums were mostly positive from critics. Could it be from bad luck or another example of the music industry taking advantage of an artist's talent? The only way to find out is by watching it yourself. This documentary does deserve to be seen but not only for its heartwarming tale but ability to show how music can positively change people's worldview.

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.

poulettegarcia ***SPOILER ALERT***This documentary, Searching for the Sugar Man, is hands down one of the best documentary I have ever seen. The documentary its self has its own build-up, rising events, plot twist, and a classical Hollywood ending. When watching this film, I felt so involved in the search for the Sugar Man; someone whom I have never heard of. Even though I had never heard of this man I was emotionally attached to his character. The documentary made me curious as to who this mysterious character truly was. I became so intrigued by the Sugar Man, that when Malik Bendjelloul said that Sugar Man killed himself at a concert (still alive), I noticed that I too myself became sad and upset, and till this day forward I cannot explain as to why I felt that way. The documentary takes you on an emotional roller- coaster as Bendjelloul tries to unravel the mystery of the Sugar Man. The scenery and music (Sugar Man's songs) were outstanding that I could truly picture myself being there in that moment while listening to his music. The director did great job when it came to telling the story of the Sugar Man. The way the scenes were put together created a suave flow, making it easy for the viewer to follow the search for the mysterious man. This documentary made me discover an amazing unknown artist in a way that is unusual. When discovering music now a day, people tend to randomly stumble up it by accident. Yet in this documentary, I felt as if I had a deep personal connection with the artist. This documentary was so good because of the impact it left on me. I now listen to his music and want to attend any upcoming concerts. I would certainly recommend watching this documentary.

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.