Searching for Sugar Man

Directed by Malik Bendjelloul. Starring Stephen Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Sixto Rodriguez, Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy, and Mike Theodore.

Searching for Sugar Man" is a winning musical detective story about a failed, forgotten early '70s rocker who became a huge success halfway across the world -- in absentia, while presumed dead for decades. Recalling prior docus like "The Stone Reader" and "Shut Up Little Man!" in scrutinizing cultish legacies wholly unknown to their originators, albeit with a happier ending here, Swedish helmer Malik Bendjelloul's intriguing, then uplifting English-language docu will make a desirable item in niche release through Sony Classics and in broadcast play. One thing is certain: Recordings out of print Stateside nearly 40 years won't remain so much longer.