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Searching for Sugar Man

Searching for Sugar Man

Music · Documentary · 2012

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.

Movie details

Searching for Sugar Man

“Great Art Always Survives”

2012 Music · Documentary 1h 25m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.9 / 10

Community rating

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Searching for Sugar Man?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Malik Bendjelloul

Written by

Malik Bendjelloul · Stephen Segerman · Craig Bartholomew Strydom

Stephen Segerman

Stephen Segerman

Self

Rodriguez

Rodriguez

Self

Regan Rodriguez

Regan Rodriguez

Self

Eva Rodriguez

Eva Rodriguez

Self

M

Mike Theodore

Self

Dennis Coffey

Dennis Coffey

Self

Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy

Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy

Self

Court is in session

Put Searching for Sugar Man on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.