SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Compelling Documentary details the mystery behind Rodriguez, the musical genius who in South Africa became the voice for anti-authoritarian youth and white liberals who opposed the evils of apartheid.

Searching For Sugar Man (2012)

dir. Malik Bendjelloul

****

Review By Greg Klymkiw

For over 50 years the virulently racist National Party policy of Apartheid in South Africa subjected its indigenous peoples to forced segregation. The resulting horrors must never be forgotten; nor should the struggle of the colonized nation's Black majority to free themselves from the brutal and degrading lifestyle imposed by the minority White rulers.

In the 70s and 80s, there existed an unlikely (and unwitting) hero of the anti-Apartheid movement - a man of almost insurmountable artistic gifts who came to represent a ray of hope and inspiration to the youth of South Africa's "ruling class" - those White Liberal Afrikaners who steadfastly opposed Apartheid and, in fact, rejected the entire atmosphere of fascism, repression and paranoia imposed upon ALL South Africans - white and black.

It is the backdrop of Apartheid that Malik Bendjelloul's glorious feature documentary Searching For Sugar Man uses to present a biographical portrait of the film's primary subject. Bendjelloul, a storyteller par excellence, structures the remarkable movie as a mystery and blends a variety of tools including animation, news reel footage and a multitude of gorgeously lit and composed interview segments to investigate one of the great show business head-scratchers.

'Twas the late 60s, in a land far, far away from South Africa, when a solitary figure became a fixture on the stages of waterfront taverns in working-class Detroit.


Night after night, late into the murky, smoky, boozy darkness permeating these ramshackle, beer-soaked dream palaces, this brilliant young American folk singer, born into a family of poor, hardworking immigrants from Mexico, captured the hearts and minds of those who came to recognize themselves, like mirror images within the evocative lyrics of the man known to them as Rodriguez. He wrote about himself, and in so doing, wrote about everyman. He was their poet laureate, their preacher, their prophet, their confessor. He shared himself with you and you alone, not the world.

A man so gifted, however, must be shared with the wider world and in due time he was discovered. Detroit was not only Motor City, but Motown and soon, he fell into the hands of some very talented Motor City music producers. This resulted in Rodriguez delivering two great albums for Sussex Records - Cold Fact (1970) and Coming From Reality (1971).

The world, alas, did not embrace them. Both albums were huge commercial disasters and Rodriguez was dropped from his label while in the middle of recording a third album (which, sadly, was never finished). Disappearing into the anonymity and obscurity of manual labour and a "normal" life, Rodriguez quickly became a has-been who never was. This young man, who had been touted as the next Bob Dylan quickly became "Rodriguez Who?".

Unbeknownst to Rodriguez, his work had been released into the repressive regime of South Africa, whereupon both albums shockingly went through the roof. In a land ruled by a succession of iron-fisted fascist maniacs like Botha, Rodriguez spoke to a new generation who wished to extricate themselves from the sins of their fathers.

In South Africa, Rodriguez did indeed become bigger than the Beatles, Bob Dylan and remarkably, Elvis Presley.

His songs often depicted the plight of the oppressed, the exploited, the working class and the poor. Rodriguez became synonymous with fighting for what was right and his songs were both anthemic and iconic amongst the Afrikaner youth of South Africa. Smothered by the "establishment" in the Totalitarian-like regime of South Africa, young Afrikaners with minds of their own embraced this fresh, passionate voice.

And yet, something didn't sit well with his multitude of South African fans. Who was he? Where did he come from? Where, on Earth, was he? The only thing they knew for sure, or at least assumed, is that he didn't come to perform in South Africa for the same reasons other artists didn't (and why other countries imposed cultural, industrial and financial boycotts):

The world was telling South Africa that Apartheid would not be tolerated.

An island unto itself, South Africa ignored worldwide demands to establish human rights for ALL its citizens, and within its hermetically sealed borders, thousands upon thousands of South African youth, in protest and solidarity bought the Rodriguez albums, listened to them on the radio and demanded his songs be performed by live cover bands. Sales continued to skyrocket - especially when sad news filtered beyond the government-controlled media that Rodriguez was dead.

Reports were conflicted. At first they heard that Rodriguez had been onstage performing for an unappreciative audience. He waited for their silence, played one last tune, then pulled out a gun and blew his brains out onstage. However, news surfaced that Rodriguez had indeed NOT shot himself.

On stage, he doused himself with gasoline and immolated himself in front of the shocked audience and in South Africa, martyrdom for Rodriguez was not far behind.

Years later, long after the fall of Apartheid, Rodriguez was still popular as ever and two of his biggest fans in South Africa embarked on an arduous journey to seek the truth. It is this journey, a fascinating blend of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and "All the President's Men", that drives Searching For Sugar Man right out of the park. This expertly written, edited and directed story of investigation and devotion, not only exposes truth, but presents a story that is as uplifting as it is sad, as thrilling as it is profoundly and deeply moving.

And then, there's the music of Rodriguez. Bendjelloul does not skimp here and this dazzling tale of determination, revelation and hope embraces us with filmmaking of the highest order.

The movie must be seen on a big screen. Sound, image and story demand a bigger than life viewing experience. And when you're done watching, you will, like I did - float out of the theatre, wander straight to the nearest purveyor of CDs and vinyl and snatch up as much Rodriguez as you can possibly find.

And then, like those Afrikaner youth who so long ago sought to extricate themselves from an evil they had no use for, you will play your Rodriguez again and again and again.

And you will feel elation of the highest and most spiritual order.

"Searching For Sugarman" is currently in platform release via Canada's Mongrel Media and Sony Pictures Classics in the USA. In Toronto, you will be able to see it at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. For tickets and info, visit the Hot Docs website HERE.

DETROPIA - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Toronto Hot Docs 2012 Must-See #2

Detropia (2012) dir. Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing

***1/2

Review By Greg Klymkiw

Having been conceived in Detroit, but at the last minute, born in Winnipeg due to Mom's sentimental desire to have me expunged in Canada, I always felt like Motor City should rightfully have been my city.

I've got to say that Detropia, a harrowing feature-length documentary exploration of this great town's decline is ultra-depressing, but surprisingly, it hasn't changed my mind about wanting to have been born there anyway. In fact, after seeing this movie, I wish I had been born there even more.

From Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, those wily, probing and provocative Oscar-nominated helmers of Jesus Camp and 12th & Delaware, this picture is not only a fascinating portrait of urban blight, but amidst the crime, poverty and decay, there's still a pulse and heartbeat of something very cool. One of the film's subjects, a young artist who enters long-abandoned, crumbling buildings in the core of the city to experience and photograph her adventures, manages to capture, at least for me, what's still residing amidst the crumbling ruins of what was once great.

Ghosts.

It's a city full of ectoplasmic activity of days gone by and I feel an odd connection to this sentiment - not only because it's the place of my conception, but that in its own way Detroit reminds me - at least on a cosmetic level of what happened to my eventual place of birth. When I first visited Detroit in the early 90s, it already looked like a blasted-out war zone. This is not unlike what happened in Winnipeg around the same time. A combination of corrupt city officials tied to owners of heritage buildings who wanted to tear them down to build parking lots and an overwhelming "White-Flight" (less-than-charitable Winnipeggers began referring to the core as an urban Indian Reservation), my magical winter city became a ghost town of abandoned, boarded-up buildings.

Detropia takes us on a fascinating tour. We meet a union organizer for an auto parts plant who desperately tries to negotiate a deal that will stop the factory from moving its base of operations to Mexico. Unemployment and the resulting poverty is touched upon unflinchingly. City council meetings with the beleaguered Mayor trying to find ways of revitalizing the city, maintaining services and yet staving off bankruptcy - as well as a disorganized, emotional and packed-to-the-rafters Town Hall Meeting are all the stuff of compelling drama.

Even more harrowing is the detail surrounding government bailouts of big business and how none of those dollars are passed on to the workers - many of whom are faced with massive pay-cuts and threats of business relocation and/or out and out closure. One woman, making minimum wage and refusing to accept handouts describes how the axing of bus routes leaves her with no way to get to her job. People working two or three jobs just to stay afloat are the norm.

While this might be the story of Detroit, it's also the story of a great nation descending to levels of a Third World Country and a New World Order intent upon keeping it that way - to widen the gap between rich and poor even further in order to maintain power and wealth.

One of the few bright spots is the story of an artist who is, for the first time in his life able to own his own home. I have to admit that this is a tad inspiring - the idea of creative people owning property and being surrounded by plenty of inspiration amidst the urban blight seems to be a tiny repast of retribution for those who are the first to be looked down upon by virtually everyone on both sides of the fence.

And then, there is the Detroit Opera House - still alive, still making beautiful music - surrounded by a wasteland of poverty, seemingly filled to capacity, and yet displaying the grotesque irony that the only patrons are those who can afford to be there. We watch, agog, as hundreds of the elite sit there adorned in finery that could probably feed all the city's homeless, their pig-snouted heads of privilege nodding solemnly in agreement when they're delivered solemn speeches from some clown in tails who whines about the financial crises facing the opera.

And finally, much as I extol the ghostly virtues of this blight, I'm ultimately sickened by what this terrific picture presents. One sequence involves an auto show filled to overflowing with American autos, but standing amidst the toils of the red, white and blue is a Chinese car - offering everything the American autos do and then some.

The American dealers can't adequately explain why the Chinese car costs so much less, but it's not lost on us as we watch the movie and everything surrounding this sequence - China's exploitative sickle and hammer capitalism is a choice many of these American auto dealers welcome. They'd be happiest if Americans succumbed to the savagery facing China's working men and women on American soil, but if not, they're happy to exploit the poor in other countries to stay rich and powerful.

When a city like Detroit goes down, America is not far behind.

And the rest of the world will feel the shattering effects of a nation ruled by oligarchies - gangster thugs dolled up beneath the veneer of respectability.

"Detropia" is playing at the Hot Docs 2012 Film Festival on Sat, May 5 5:45 PM at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. Visit the Hot Docs website to get tickets HERE.