Talented Detroit troubadour could have been a star, but his 1970s albums fail to sell and he is consigned to a life of obscurity and hard labor, until rediscovered by millions of adoring fans he never knew he had. This is inspiring stuff, a moving feel-good movie with a detective plot, as a record store owner and a journalist hunt down the enigmatic Rodriguez, whose album Cold Fact made him an anonymous superstar in South Africa.
This is a great piece of manipulative filmmaking, but as a documentary it asks more questions than it answers, and never lets the facts stand in the way of a good story. First up we are told Rodriguez was more famous than the Rolling Stones in South Africa, artistically his only peer was Bob Dylan, and he was a leading inspiration in the struggle against apartheid. Come on. Really? Then, based on unsubstantiated guesstimates from "half a million" to "millions" of album sales, the film asks where the royalties went, but doesn't follow through. They interview Rodriguez, who surely could have answered this question, along with many others, but we see little of the man himself, except for wistful shots of him looking out a window, while his daughters and the South Africans do most of the talking.
I wanted to see Rodriguez, but this becomes more a story of the South Africans and their feeble attempts to track him down. These included putting his picture on milk cartons and spreading rumors of his self-immolation on stage, which sounded more like attempts to promote the myth ahead of his tours of South Africa. Also, the movie implies Rodriguez was unheard of outside South Africa, but Cold Fact was also popular in Australia, where Rodriguez toured in the late 70s and then with Midnight Oil. I know, I was a fan and had a copy of the album, as did most of my friends. We are also told he survived his life after music by working as a demolition man. Nice hard luck story, but an internet search reveals he was also a teacher and social worker, and the movie quickly passes over his graduation from university.
Rodriguez was a unique talent, I loved his music, and this film does a great job of giving this humble man the recognition he deserves. It is a moving cinema experience and well worth seeing, but this is faction as much as fact, which is carefully excised to fit the myth.
This is a great piece of manipulative filmmaking, but as a documentary it asks more questions than it answers, and never lets the facts stand in the way of a good story. First up we are told Rodriguez was more famous than the Rolling Stones in South Africa, artistically his only peer was Bob Dylan, and he was a leading inspiration in the struggle against apartheid. Come on. Really? Then, based on unsubstantiated guesstimates from "half a million" to "millions" of album sales, the film asks where the royalties went, but doesn't follow through. They interview Rodriguez, who surely could have answered this question, along with many others, but we see little of the man himself, except for wistful shots of him looking out a window, while his daughters and the South Africans do most of the talking.
I wanted to see Rodriguez, but this becomes more a story of the South Africans and their feeble attempts to track him down. These included putting his picture on milk cartons and spreading rumors of his self-immolation on stage, which sounded more like attempts to promote the myth ahead of his tours of South Africa. Also, the movie implies Rodriguez was unheard of outside South Africa, but Cold Fact was also popular in Australia, where Rodriguez toured in the late 70s and then with Midnight Oil. I know, I was a fan and had a copy of the album, as did most of my friends. We are also told he survived his life after music by working as a demolition man. Nice hard luck story, but an internet search reveals he was also a teacher and social worker, and the movie quickly passes over his graduation from university.
Rodriguez was a unique talent, I loved his music, and this film does a great job of giving this humble man the recognition he deserves. It is a moving cinema experience and well worth seeing, but this is faction as much as fact, which is carefully excised to fit the myth.