Film Review: Searching For Sugar Man (12A) (Sweden/U.K. 2012) (Director: Malik Bendjelloul), Thursday 26.07.2012 18:30, The Cameo Cinema Screen Three, Edinburgh & Saturday 28.07.2012 18:30, The Cameo Cinema Screen One, Edinburgh

This is a documentary and one of my most anticipated films of the year. Without giving too much of this remarkable story away, it concerns a gentleman called Rodriguez who in 1970 & 1971 recorded the albums Cold Fact & Coming From Reality (After The Fact). Despite high end production and comparisons to the likes of Dylan, he sank without a trace and returned to other means to make ends meet. Somehow, still not entirely clear, the first album became known in South Africa where it has become one of the biggest albums of all time and is credited as an inspiration to young white South Afrikaans in taking an anti-apartheid stance.

If my memory serves me correctly the Cold Fact album was only commercially released in the U.K. in 2009.    I'm consciously aware of having known it since 1998, due to a South-African flatmate in the first year of university (although another friend did subsequently inform me that he played it to me a couple of years earlier, though apparently I was too obsessed by Dylan at the time to be able to properly hear/appreciate it). I was able to order Cold Fact in the import section of H.M.V. in Oxford Street, London in the summer of 1999.

I have considered Cold Fact to be one of my favorite albums, and one of the best I've heard for quite a number of years. Coming From Reality, which in the age of the internet took me four further years to track down, appears flawed in comparison, although does have some good songs. There is a lot of mystique around this man. It was believed that he had killed himself on stage. The film is based upon what happened when two white South Afrikaans got together to try to find out how he did actually die. I will not say any more about the films content, suffice to say it has a killer soundtrack, and is a charming and uplifting film. For what is an extraordinary story, it is told without bombast, in a manner that appears befitting of the subject. I would recommend the film to anyone with an interest in contemporary music and/or social change.

In an age of ever increasing banality within music, a long overdue focus is being shone on someone of true talent. As one of my favorites, where for years if I mentioned him to someone I was almost guaranteed that the person I was speaking with would have no idea as to who I was on about, I could not be happier that he is receiving the recognition.

There has been one other documentary film I have seen at the cinema this year that I have been very impressed with and that was 'Magic Trip' (10/10). Yesterday eve I was thinking is this one better, and is it even possible to judge such a thing. I came to the conclusion that although Magic Trip is very interesting, this is a more coherent and uplifting film.

In terms of music documentaries, I would put this alongside 'Buena Vista Social Club' (10/10), 'Don't Look Back' (08/10), 'Under Great White Northern Lights' (08/10) & 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston' (09/10). Though Searching For Sugar Man is more than a music documentary.

It has taken my a bit over a week to get round to writing this. That is at least in part due to the fact that although I very much enjoyed the film, I was aware that I already knew quite a lot of the story (though it still held surprises) and was also aware that as the Cold Fact album means so much to me, that that fact cannot help but flavor how I receive the film. So when it comes to giving a rating, I thought well I could consider it an X, though that could be due to my building up years of bias, and for someone who has no knowledge of him, they could view it very differently.

Anyhow I got passed this silliness, as the only way I can view the film is as a fan.    

Rating: 10/10.
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5 Flawless Films so far this year: 
2 Documentaries: Magic Trip + Searching For Sugar Man
1 French Feature: Goodbye First Love 
1 Turkish Feature: Once Upon A Time In Anatolia 
1 Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises