Searching for Sugar Man, the new film by Malik Bendjelloui, is a revelatory and compelling documentary about the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Rodriguez, who was momentarily hailed in 1970 as the finest recording artist of his generation, and then disappeared into oblivion - only to rise again from the ashes in a completely different context, a continent away.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a number of musicians who blended rock, folk and psychedelia to create a truly unique sound. One of the most original was Sixto Rodrieguez, whose tracks ‘Sugar Man’, ‘Hate Street Dialogue’ and ‘Heikki’s Suburbia Bus Tour’ should have guaranteed him long-lasting fame. Instead he slipped into obscurity. Malik Bendjelloui’s superb documentary goes in search of Rodriguez and, as a result, has resurrected the work of this criminally overlooked singer-songwriter.
