Member review

The 2012 documentary film ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ follows the journey of two South African fans of an American folk singer named Rodriguez, attempting to uncover the mystery of the supposed death of this elusive musician. Although the film has an ultimately satisfying and uplifting conclusion, the story of Rodriguez seems too simple to warrant a feature length recount.

Despite having a running time of only 86 minutes, the filmmakers appear to have struggled to fill even this with engaging insight or commentary regarding the singer and his intriguing situation. The extended sequences of city landscapes, Rodriguez aimlessly walking through his hometown of Detroit, become tiresome and feel like inconsequential filler with the sole purpose of extending the retelling of this story. A lack of selectivity in regards to the interviews chosen to be included in the final documentary is also apparent; the often dull and ineffectual insights and perspectives contribute little to our picture of Rodriguez and fail to further the narrative of his unexpected commercial success in South Africa. The film’s pace suffers significantly because of these poorly executed elements, leaving me as a viewer bored and unengaged.

Yet, the story of this singer’s surprising but deserved triumph in the face of what appeared to be inescapable failure in undeniably inspiring. Though I was not entertained or invested for the majority of the film, I can’t pretend that I didn't end my viewing with a smile on my face; I still left inspired by the message that all art is worth the effort of doing as it will always affect, resonate with or console at least one person, if not thousands as Rodriguez ultimately learns.