95% Searching for Sugar Man

All Critics (101) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (96) | Rotten (5)

The search for a long-lost pop icon has an unexpected payoff.

[A] moving, lyrical account ...

Director Malik Bendjelloul's engaging, cleverly structured documentary about the legendary folk singer Rodriguez is shaped like a mystery.

If you like music, a good mystery or, better yet, a combination of both, you won't be disappointed.

An electrifying illustration of music's power to inspire and change lives on both sides of the footlights.

Submitted for your approval: one Sixto Rodriguez, a Mexican-American singer/songwriter whom Rod Serling would surely embrace, in or out of the Twilight Zone.

Part music documentary, part mystery, all inspirational homage to unrecognized genius everywhere.

For the most part an endearing documentary about mystery Bob Dylan-like singer Sixto Rodriguez.

An amazing story. If music is the glue of the world then Rodriguez is the super glue.

Does a nice job of presenting the mystery and history of Rodriguez... but seems incomplete, and biased in favor of its predetermined narrative.

Rodriguez, once he emerges from the mists, appears to be a sweet, decent - and remarkably intact - soul. One wonders if he had achieved his rock 'n' roll dreams, would his daughters have turned out so well?

There's a fascinating story in the rise and fall of singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, "the Latin Bob Dylan," and it's too bad that the documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" doesn't tell enough of it.

A soulful, lip-tremblingly joyous movie that's one of the more affecting experiences I've had in a cinema this year.

Engrossing even when it's a little unfocused.

One of the most bizarre pop music documentaries ever...a singularly fascinating true-life tale that many of its participants still find difficult to believe.

...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.

A mystery as compelling as any fictional detective story.

The first half of this film is mysterious whereas the second half is wonderfully inspiring. It's proof that truth really is stranger than fiction.

This is a fine documentary; insightful and entertaining with a genteel approach to uncovering a figure so close to the hearts of an unexpected fan base.

A celebration of an artist and the power of art to transcend time and place

Much credit to director Malik Bendjelloul for surprising this cynical and desensitised film watcher.

For those familiar with the story of Rodriguez, this engaging documentary on his substantial success in South Africa will prove both illuminating and bemusing.

I was instantly hooked by this unique documentary...If you are a traveller on the road of life, don't miss this unforgettable treasure of a film

This is not only the best documentary I've seen this year, it's one that shows other documentaries how to do it.

Searching for Sugar Man reminds us that a wise man knows lasting riches are never the result of record sales.

Searching for Sugar Man" is a saga about the power of music, living life on one's own terms and the joy of second chances.

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