An enjoyable film overall. However, as a self-promoted "documentary", it falls short in quite a few key areas:
* it perpetuates the myth that after the release of his 2nd album in 1971 he received no recognition and effectively retired from performing. The film selectively omits the facts that he was very popular in Australia throughout the 70's and toured there in 1979 and 1981. He was equally popular in New Zealand and other African countries.
* in Australia an album entitled "Alive" was released shortly after his last tour. This title suggests that many people(and I would imagine it includes the touring party) must have known South Africans believed he was dead .. and the film does not explain how such a mystery of his death could have survived for 17-odd years after the release of this album
* the "documentary" fails to explain how copies of the album were actually made and distributed after Sussex folded. It takes time to describe a "follow-the-money" strategy employed by a musicologist ... but really does not properly describe the findings. Perhaps the truth would have diluted the story in the film?
* the film tells us Rodriguez, after six concerts in South Africa, went back to virtual obscurity. In fact, he toured extensively abroad in the 2000's, including many returns to Australia.
* we learn nothing of the mothers of his daughters, including anything of his relationship with them. For an artist who has composed many breathtakingly beautiful love songs, this omission is most remarkable for a "documentary"
Despite this I still enjoyed it ... thanks mostly to the inclusion of Rodriguez's hypnotic music and voice.
* it perpetuates the myth that after the release of his 2nd album in 1971 he received no recognition and effectively retired from performing. The film selectively omits the facts that he was very popular in Australia throughout the 70's and toured there in 1979 and 1981. He was equally popular in New Zealand and other African countries.
* in Australia an album entitled "Alive" was released shortly after his last tour. This title suggests that many people(and I would imagine it includes the touring party) must have known South Africans believed he was dead .. and the film does not explain how such a mystery of his death could have survived for 17-odd years after the release of this album
* the "documentary" fails to explain how copies of the album were actually made and distributed after Sussex folded. It takes time to describe a "follow-the-money" strategy employed by a musicologist ... but really does not properly describe the findings. Perhaps the truth would have diluted the story in the film?
* the film tells us Rodriguez, after six concerts in South Africa, went back to virtual obscurity. In fact, he toured extensively abroad in the 2000's, including many returns to Australia.
* we learn nothing of the mothers of his daughters, including anything of his relationship with them. For an artist who has composed many breathtakingly beautiful love songs, this omission is most remarkable for a "documentary"
Despite this I still enjoyed it ... thanks mostly to the inclusion of Rodriguez's hypnotic music and voice.