Director: Malik Bendjelloul
Year Released: 2012
Rating: 2.0
Back in the early 70's, a singer-songwriter named Rodriguez released two records that did basically zero business in the United States, but by some weird fluke became incredibly popular in Apartheid-era South Africa (via bootlegs and word-of-mouth) - rumors of Rodriguez's death and the mystery behind his background only added to his appeal, so when some ardent South African fans try to track him down (via the Internet!), they discover he's alive and well and living ... in Detroit. Though incredible as a real-life story of being famous and influential in another part of the world (ah, the magic of music!) and not even knowing it, as an account of Rodriguez himself it's certainly lacking, with Bendjelloul being too busy playing up the idea of Rodriguez as this reclusive genius/poet who has lived his politics (his blue collar day job is still in construction) and the musical equivalent of Bob Dylan (!) instead of addressing ever fundamental questions about oh, say, what happened to his career, why is he missing part of his finger and what about his personal relationships outside music (aside from accolades from co-workers and family): it makes someone mysterious even more so, and the audience learns more about someone like Steve "Sugar" Segerman the record store owner than the documentary's intended subject. The songs played are fine if not exactly remarkable, but watching Rodriguez filmed trekking through harsh Michigan snow and putting wood on a fire in a cramped home or even sitting around, half-covered in darkness wearing sunglasses is trying too hard to make him some kind of mythical figure. I mean, I get it, but he's still not Dylan. Or Donovan. So forget that.
