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Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: At 85 minutes, it's a tight, sharp achievement, yet one of the things I love about it is simple: It moves to a relaxed rhythm, in sync with its slightly otherworldly subject. Read more
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Music executive Clarence Avant says Rodriguez sold about six copies of each of his two albums. Multiply that by the number of people who see this movie. Read more
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: A hugely appealing documentary about fans, faith and an enigmatic Age of Aquarius musician who burned bright and hopeful before disappearing. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: The way in which this fascinating story unfolds, as directed by Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul, renders it thoroughly captivating, often exhilarating. Read more
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: You watch "Searching for Sugar Man" at first fascinated by the mystery - what happened to Rodriguez? Where did he go? Then you become infuriated by its revelations of financial injustice. Read more
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Though manipulative in its storytelling and structure, Searching For Sugar Man ultimately earns its happy ending by alchemizing pain into transcendent beauty. Read more
Noel Murray, AV Club: I'll praise the quality of director Malik Bendjelloul's storytelling, which is gripping from the opening shot almost to the last. Read more
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: If you like music, a good mystery or, better yet, a combination of both, you won't be disappointed. Read more
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: A rock documentary that goes way behind the music to tell a story that seems pure urban legend. Read more
Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Here's the rare music documentary in which the narrative is more interesting than the songs. Read more
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: This is a real-life fairy tale with a remarkably happy ending. Read more
Adam Graham, Detroit News: Bendjelloul mixes modern footage of Detroit with archival and animated images, and the shots of Rodriguez marching through his home turf help viewers understand what makes him tick. Read more
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: We're fed plenty of sugar in this authorized fairy tale, but are left hungry for beef. Read more
William Goss, Film.com: A documentary about fandom and freedom, information and misinformation, fleeting fame and everlasting art, it tackles all of these qualities with remarkable ease and - of course - a great soundtrack. Read more
Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: While all the interview subjects are enthusiastic, the overall lack of familiarity with Rodriquez's personal background and career collapse begin to drag. Read more
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The rustic folk-rock sound and politically provocative lyrics provide the seductive soundtrack for the film. They often serve as a stand-in for the artist as well. It is how we get to know him. Read more
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Director Malik Bendjelloul's engaging, cleverly structured documentary about the legendary folk singer Rodriguez is shaped like a mystery. Read more
Ken Marks, New Yorker: [A] moving, lyrical account ... Read more
Ella Taylor, NPR: The movie's most potent emotional payoff is less Rodriguez's delayed success story - the fulfillment of many a frustrated rocker's fantasies - than the mysteries it leaves unsolved. Read more
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Listen, be moved, and pass it on. Read more
Sara Stewart, New York Post: A terrific documentary about a decades-long search, by two South African Rodriguez fans, for the story behind their enigmatic pop idol. Read more
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Beautiful and revelatory, Searching for Sugar Man also incorporates huge chunks of Rodriguez's music. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I hope you're able to see this film. You deserve to. And yes, it exists because we need for it to. Read more
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Searching for Sugar Man is a fresh and unexpected documentary that plays like a nail-biting mystery and a ticket to ride the whirlwind where art and commerce do battle. Read more
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: An electrifying illustration of music's power to inspire and change lives on both sides of the footlights. Read more
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It starts as a bittersweet parable about the cruelty of commerce, but the wonder of "Searching for Sugar Man" will not soon slip away. Read more
Ian Buckwalter, The Atlantic: A fantastic music doc with a surprising twist; which, when done as well as it is here, works just as effectively whether you know what's coming or not. Read more
Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: A pleasing fix, Searching for Sugar Man is a lost-and-found film about pursuits - one of them abandoned, and one not. Read more
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: 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. Read more
Trevor Johnston, Time Out: All you really have to know about this surprising and emotive music doc is that you should see it. Read more
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: A diverting but frustrating quasiprofile, one that doesn't have the answers to its own questions. Read more
Dennis Harvey, Variety: 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. Read more
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice: Fluid, open-ended documentaries that demand more of an audience than foregone assent or fleeting bouts of passive outrage are rare these days, which is what makes Malik Bendjelloul's Searching for Sugar Man such a gift. Read more
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: The movie is neatly structured, and Rodriguez turns out to be an interesting guy. He's worth getting to know, even if his music isn't. Read more