Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
95%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
44 wins & 33 nominations total
A fascinating portrait of a forgotten musical pioneer, Searching for Sugar Man is by turns informative and mysterious.
Searching for Sugar Man is the ultimate feel-good documentary that will leave you with a smile on your face and a newfound appreciation for the power of music. Even if you’ve never heard of Rodriguez before, you’ll be swept up in the mystery and magic of his story, and the way that director Malik Bendjelloul peels back the layers to reveal the truth behind this forgotten musician. With stunning visuals and a killer soundtrack, this is one documentary that you won’t want to miss. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and get ready to be transported to another world.
Production Company(ies)
Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Detroit, Michigan, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some drug references
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 26m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 27, 2012 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 22, 2013
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, music, Rodriguez, South Africa, mystery, forgotten musician, fans, investigation, true story, box office, budget, PG-13, directed by Malik Bendjelloul, written by Malik Bendjelloul, produced by George Chignell, Simon Chinn, Nicole Stott, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Michael Phillips, Leonard Maltin, John Anderson, Ken Marks, Joe Williams, Rebecca Schiller, David Bax, Charlotte Harrison, Richard Propes, Jim Ross, starring Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodore, Dan DiMaggio, Jerome Ferretti, Steve Rowland
Worldwide gross: $9,216,552
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,882,204
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,906
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,295,769
US/Canada gross: $3,696,196
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,765,226
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,824
US/Canada opening weekend: $27,459
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $35,401
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,317
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Dennis Coffey – self
Mike Theodore – self
Dan DiMaggio – self
Jerome Ferretti – self
Steve Rowland – self
Malik Bendjelloul – director, writer
George Chignell – producer
Simon Chinn – producer
Nicole Stott – producer
Director(s)
Malik Bendjelloul
Writer(s)
Malik Bendjelloul
Producer(s)
George Chignell, Simon Chinn, Nicole Stott
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
44 wins & 33 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Documentary Feature Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (133) | Top Critics (49) | Fresh (126) | Rotten (7)
The best, most touching, most humbling documentary I’ve ever seen about a musician I’ve never heard of.
September 1, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
At 85 minutes, it’s a tight, sharp achievement, yet one of the things I love about it is simple: It moves to a relaxed rhythm, in sync with its slightly otherworldly subject.
January 7, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
…it isn’t merely the content that makes Searching for Sugar Man so affecting: it’s the way that Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul sets up the story and peels away the mystery of Rodriguez, one layer at time.
October 5, 2012
Leonard Maltin
leonardmaltin.com
TOP CRITIC
The search for a long-lost pop icon has an unexpected payoff.
September 21, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/4
John Anderson
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
[A] moving, lyrical account …
September 17, 2012
Ken Marks
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It starts as a bittersweet parable about the cruelty of commerce, but the wonder of “Searching for Sugar Man” will not soon slip away.
September 13, 2012 | Rating: 4/4
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
The driving force of Searching For Sugar Man is the fans, and their journey from the discovery of their favourite singer to the sell-out South African shows he plays 30 years after…
May 4, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Rebecca Schiller
NME
If you go see Searching for Sugar Man – and I suggest you do – try not to know too much about him beforehand.
March 10, 2021
David Bax
Battleship Pretension
Stranger than fiction, this is an incredible story about a true talent.
December 2, 2020
Charlotte Harrison
Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies
Benefits from camera work by Camilla Skagerstrom that is nothing short of amazing and beautiful and the perfect meditative counterpart to Rodriguez’s music.
September 22, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Although its attempts to play out as some sort of missing person drama perhaps sit at odds with its subject, the film is an engrossing yarn with a touch of visual flair from Malik Bendjelloul.
February 13, 2020
Jim Ross
TAKE ONE Magazine
Searching for Sugar Man is a sensitive yet creative documentary. Great for music and film fans alike.
November 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Katie Smith-Wong
Flick Feast…
Plot
In the early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations. Long rumored there to be dead by suicide, a few fans in the 1990s decided to seek out the truth of their hero’s fate. What follows is a bizarrely heartening story in which they found far more in their quest than they ever hoped, while a Detroit construction laborer discovered that his lost artistic dreams came true after all.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary Searching for Sugar Man features musician Rodriguez, who became a huge hit in South Africa despite fading into obscurity in the US.
Malik-Bendjelloul.jpg
