Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Reading about Searching for Sugar Man, the documentary piqued my interest but it’s the resounding reviews from people who’d seen it that sold me. The story will be especially attractive to music aficionados. The facts about Rodriguez and his trajectory are specific yet possess a broad appeal.

The story is about Sixto Rodriguez, a talented folk singer, guitarist from Detroit. Compared to Bob Dylan for his powerful lyrics, he performed with his back to the audience. A terrific lyricist who put out two records in the 1970s to no financial success. He was dropped from his label and went into obscurity. Except that in South Africa he was a superstar, selling at least half a million records. But what happened to Rodriguez?

Enter Stephen “Sugar” Segerman (whose nickname, we learn comes from the eponymous Rodriguez song “Sugar Man”), a jeweler and later record store owner, who tells us about Rodriguez’s musical prowess in South Africa. That he’d heard that he’d set himself afire on stage during a show—the most disturbing rock suicide of all time. When Segerman writes liner notes for a Rodriguez CD reissue, he adds an inquiry in the liner notes to see if anyone has information on the legend. Craig Bartholomew-Strydom, a music journalist, answers the call and starts his investigation, eventually solving the mystery.

The storytelling in Searching for Sugar Man is excellent, as is the Super 8 footage, rich images, colors, hues. We are taken from the picturesque landscape of South Africa to California to Detroit. We get a fable, complete with myths about Rodriguez. We learn about Apartheid in South Africa and how deeply it cut of the country from the rest of the world. Sanctions and boycotts kept out foreign musicians and bands. Inside the country, the conservative pro-Apartheid regime of PW Botha censored music, including Rodriguez (by scratching the songs on LPs so they were unplayable). Story goes that an American woman visiting her South African boyfriend brought a Rodriguez bootleg and it caught, like fire. According to Segerman, during the ‘70s, most middle-class white households with a turntable owned Abbey Road (Beatles), Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Simon and Garfunkel) and Cold Fact (Rodriguez).

Searching for Sugar Man is juicy story with dead ends, switchbacks and a beautifully uplifting ending. The music, cinematography and rich interviews with music industry folk, a brick layer, a construction worker and a bartender round out a movie, underscoring the importance of dreams and that it’s never too late to make it.

Writer/Director: Malik Bendjelloul

Country: Sweden/UK

Genre: Documentary that plays like a mystery

Run time: 83 minutes

Scale: 5

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

Is it a documentary about street art? A mockumentary about an eccentric Frenchman who takes up street art at Banksy’s suggestion? An intelligent put-on buzzing with social commentary on celebrity and what it considered good art? Yes, yes and yes.

You meet Thierry Guetta, a vintage resale shop owner who’s never not video-documenting his life. When he begins filming his cousin—French street artist Invader, his life takes a turn. He meets other street artists. He starts filming them and getting into his role so much so that soon he's assisting them, climbing buildings and filming from high above. He documents the Who’s Who of street artists including Shepard Fairey (creator of the Obama Hope poster), Borf, Swoon (female representation), Sweet Toof. When he starts sniffing around for Banksy, the elusive English street artist, he’s told “never, it won’t happen, he doesn’t even own a phone.” But, a coup d'état occurs—they meet and it’s chemistry.

Clever and funny, Exit Through the Gift Shop is wickedly entertaining. The narration guides it like a fairy tale. Guetta is genius. Can a character like him be made up? Would these artists agree to be filmed? Who knows for sure? Many things don’t make sense—Guetta’s copyright infringement, the Disney incident, the over-the-top show (which means Brad, Angie, Christina and Jude were complicit or themselves duped)—but that adds it because you’re still unable to know what is really happening.

If you like street art, you may like this. If you like Banksy, you’ll love it. Don’t miss the what-are-they-doing-now bit at the end about Debora (Guetta’s wife). It’s a great touch.

Director: Banksy

Country: UK

Genre: Documentary with a heavy hand of comedy

Run time: 87 minutes

Scale: 5

I Am (2010)

Have you ever contemplated what’s wrong with our world today where we are in competition with one another to have the fattest wallet and amass the most? After a serious bike accident, producer-director Tom Shadyac (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor and Patch Adams) had a long recovery period during which he examined his life and level of happiness. He learned that more money and possessions didn’t translate to greater happiness. He interviews many of today’s respected thinkers—Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn—about what it means to be alive today and how to bring meaning to your life.

I Am could’ve gone down preachy and patronizing routes, but, with Shadyac at the helm, it stays light and smart. During one especially entertaining moment, Shadyac asks his famous interviewees if they’ve heard of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The results are laugh-out-loud funny. The only place I Am suffers is an unusual title that doesn’t lend a clue on subject (after viewing, the meaning is clear).

I Am flows with humor, compelling facts and powerful quotes that carry a simple, yet influential message. It highlights the little effort that pays off exponentially if we are kinder and more open. You leave the theater inspired and ready to influence change.

Director: Tom Shadyac

Country: USA

Genre: Documentary

Run time: 76 minutes

Scale: 4.5