The story is amazing, and the film is near excellent for it! Rodriguez's stomping grounds weren't too far from where I used to live, yet I don't recall hearing about him. Watching the film, he seemed like kind of an urban legend. This is the kind of stuff documentaries are made for.

Definitely one of my favorite musician documentaries. It's really well told, with some morbid suspense in the beginning (reports that he lit himself on fire and died on stage) slowly reeling us into the investigation and a really unexpected reveal.

Adding to the complexity is the fact that the talented young filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul died by suicide 2 years after the film's release. I've been meaning to watch this again with that in mind.

@rooprect said:

Definitely one of my favorite musician documentaries. It's really well told, with some morbid suspense in the beginning (reports that he lit himself on fire and died on stage) slowly reeling us into the investigation and a really unexpected reveal.

Adding to the complexity is the fact that the talented young filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul died by suicide 2 years after the film's release. I've been meaning to watch this again with that in mind.

Yes, I remember hearing about this. What does it add to the discussion, pray tell?

@Rocky_Sullivan said:

@rooprect said:

Definitely one of my favorite musician documentaries. It's really well told, with some morbid suspense in the beginning (reports that he lit himself on fire and died on stage) slowly reeling us into the investigation and a really unexpected reveal.

Adding to the complexity is the fact that the talented young filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul died by suicide 2 years after the film's release. I've been meaning to watch this again with that in mind.

Yes, I remember hearing about this. What does it add to the discussion, pray tell?

I was thinking of the suicidal artist theme I mentioned: rumors that Sugar Man killed himself onstage, or more figuratively the doc explores the theme of artistic suicide; someone who accomplishes some level of artistic success and then disappears. Pulling a “Rimbaud” if you’re familiar with Eddie & the Cruisers.

In Malik’s case the suicide was literal unfortunately. But you can’t help but wonder if there’s a thematic link between the two: vanishing vs. actual death.

Oh, cool. Haven’t seen Eddie & the Cruisers yet. This film that a post-"brat pack" Ally Sheedy acted in, High Art, probes that very theme you mentioned in your last paragraph there. Thanks for the clarification.

@Rocky_Sullivan said:

Oh, cool. Haven’t seen Eddie & the Cruisers yet. This film that a post-brat pack Ally Sheedy acted in, High Art, probes that very theme you mentioned in your last paragraph there. Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for the tip! I haven't heard of it but it's now on my watchlist. Love Ally Sheedy (she did a bangup job in the somewhat recent Little Sister).

I love the theme of the vanishing artist because to me it's kinda like the opposite of the common rockstar cliché (or the Faust tale) where rockstars typically live fast and burn out. Very rarely does a successful artist quit while they're on top and move on to something new in life.

Definitely check out Eddie if you get a chance. You might have to forgive a bit of 80s cheese, but the story is solid. The "Rimbaud" I mentioned earlier refers to the French poet Arthur Rimbaud who published 1 great work and then totally vanished, referenced in Eddie. So it's a lot like the Sugar Man type situation.

@rooprect said:

@Rocky_Sullivan said:

Oh, cool. Haven’t seen Eddie & the Cruisers yet. This film that a post-brat pack Ally Sheedy acted in, High Art, probes that very theme you mentioned in your last paragraph there. Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for the tip!

You got it.