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Searching for Sugarman: The Story of Sixto Rodriguez

 

Many of us would like to believe in destiny. Many of us wander our way through life, satisfied in the knowledge that our path may already be laid out ahead of us. Others jump from dream to dream, waiting for fate to find them. Yet, no matter the journey, all of us yearn to reach the same destination, our fate, our happily ever after. Your dreams may become reality, or they could forever remain unreachable, a work of fiction.

Directed by Malik Bendejoull, Searching for Sugarman is a documentary film detailing the fascinating life of 1970’s musician Sixto Rodriguez. “Who”, I hear you ask? Well, the unfortunate truth is that if this is the first time you’re reading about Rodriguez, the likelihood is you, like many others, have never heard of him.

video via studiocanaluk

Rodriguez lived his life on the mean streets of 1960/70’s Detroit. He is described as being a drifter, a lost soul, and not much more than a homeless man, who would spend his days doing odd jobs and playing music around the city. Those who had contact with Rodriguez maintain his mysterious, prophet like image. He was a good man, who kept himself to himself, and until the release of Searching for Sugarman in 2012, those who had heard of Rodriguez had very little to add to that information.

After becoming somewhat of a local mystery, Rodriguez released Cold Fact in 1970, followed by Coming from Reality a year later. Both albums dramatically flopped in the US and Sixto was swiftly dropped from his label. Thought to have become depressed, he later committed suicide, allegedly shooting himself in the head during a performance in a local Detroit bar, though this information cannot be confirmed.

Compared by his management to Bob Dylan, in terms of song writing ability, the tragedy of Sixto Rodriguez represents how life has a funny way of putting you on a path to destiny.

South Africa was a dangerous place in the 1970’s. With apartheid in full swing, the troubled country was a cultural boycott. A behind closed doors situation, damaged by violence and racial tensions, with some events described as resembling the holocaust. Nobody is quite sure how the first copy of Cold Fact found itself in the country, but that album would change life in South Africa forever.

By 1975, Cold Fact was a platinum selling album in the country. Rodriguez’s music inspired musicians across the country to stand up and take action against their government. “Anti-Establishment” was not even a recognized word in South Africa before it appeared on a Rodriguez record. Cold Fact and Coming from Reality taught the South African people, of all races and creeds, that it was fine to be angry at the government.

Elvis; the Beatles; Bob Dylan; Cat Stevens, you name it, Rodriguez was bigger.  Bendejoull’s Oscar winning masterpiece is an absolute must watch for fans of film, music and life. This is not a review, nor a recommendation. It is a command. If you’ve ever had a dream, this documentary is for you, and one is assured, the best is yet to come.

See the Studio Canal UK trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKXewWDh1og

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The Bechdel Test

A black and white comic strip featuring two female characters going to see a film

A black and white comic strip featuring two female characters going to see a film

The Bechdel test aims determine whether works of fiction are gender biased. To pass the test, the work must feature at least two named female characters, who talk to each other about something besides a male character.

The concept is simple and you’re probably thinking, ‘that’s silly, I’m sure that most films pass that test’, which is what I thought when I was first introduced to the concept. Then I tried to think of any film I’d seen which would pass the test. I couldn’t.

The test originated from Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, in a strip from 1985 called The Rule, a female character states that she will only watch a film if it can satisfy the three requirements. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Mo Movie Test’ after the female character but that isn’t correct as the character ‘Mo’ doesn’t appear in the strips until two years after The Rule was published. Bechdel has also said that she cannot take credit for the rules as she stole the idea from Liz Wallace whose name appears in the strip.

Half of the population consists of women who surely want to be represented on the big screen. And it would be offensive to assume that men wouldn’t want to watch women in film talking to each other, as if they speak some kind of elusive language that men don’t understand. So why is it that so few films manage to pass the simple test?

It’s hard to define why, Jennifer Kesler a film student raises some interesting points in her article on females in film. The frequent argument is that people don’t want to see them. Kesler mentions an industry pro once telling her “The audience doesn’t want to listen to a bunch of women talking about whatever it is women talk about.” But can that really be accurate?

As Cate Blanchett highlighted in her Oscar acceptance speech, “female films with women at the centre are [not] niche experiences” and “Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people.” In fact two of 2013s highest grossing films were The Huger Games Catching Fire (5th highest grossing film) and Frozen (2nd highest grossing). Both of which pass the Bechdel test and more importantly, feature strong female characters. It is undeniable that people will pay, literally millions to see films where women feature prominently.

The Bechdel test simply looks at the cast of films and whether it provides valuable female characters. It is possible for a film to fail but still present a strong female character, Mako Mori in Pacific Rim is a good example. It is also possible for the test to pass and provide no strong female characters. But it is an important starting point, it helps to illuminate the lack of female characters in film, and hopefully as the film industry advances and grows, it will not be necessary.

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Let the credits role

The word 'The End' printed in white on a black background.
The word 'The End' printed in white on a black background.

Image via YouTube

The End. And They Lived Happily Ever After’. Fade to black and let the credits role.

It’s Friday night and you have just spent £9.85 on a movie that you’ve been looking forward to for months. In the 118 minutes that you’ve sat in the theatre, with your shoes sticking to the popcorn encrusted floor you’ve laughed, you’ve cried and you’ve seen good triumph over evil.

Once the final scene ends and the screen fades to black and the house lights are turned up, and you make the way to your car. All the while hundreds of names are streaming up the screen giving those hardworking individuals who worked relentlessly for months their few seconds in the spotlight.

The credits, we often don’t even take notice of them, but without all those names, there would be no film to see. Each and every one of those are integral to the successful production of the film, from caterers to cleaners they all have their own role to play.

But what about the crew whose job descriptions are less descriptive and more confusing. Here, Inside Film will show you some of the more diverse jobs that go into bringing you the best cinematic experiences.

Best Boy

While this has nothing to do with a wedding, or being the second in command to the ‘best man’, no speeches involved here. There are two types of best boy on a film set; electric and grip. Best boy electric is the gaffer’s assistant. the best boy grip assists the key grip.

So what is a gaffer and a key grip?

Gaffer

Though the gaffer manages the entire electrical department, all the guys who run cables and hang lights, his main responsibility is mounting and positioning lights and lighting rigs.

Key Grip

This guy runs the Grips department and assists the Gaffer. He usually knows his team well and will contract out the same people for each film or production he’s hired to work on. Grips are like worker bees. They do lots of different things, like moving set pieces, scenery, and pushing cameras on dollies for follow-shots. But the grip’s main job is lighting. They set up filters in front of the lights and position sun blocks to keep natural light from ruining a scene.

Dolly Grip

A dolly grip operates the movie camera dolly. If you’ve ever wondered how cameras seem to follow actors so smoothly and so fluidly in some scenes, it’s because the camera is mounted on a dolly, not handheld, and pushed along a track, like a little one-car train.

Greensman

One of the more specific job roles on a movie, the greensman is responsible for placing any flowers, plants or shrubs needed for a scene in the correct place.

Lead Man

No, not the ‘leading man’ his job is in front of the camera. The job of the lead man is being in charge of the entire set crew.

Foley Artists

A foley artist is responsible for creating the sound effects that are added in post-production. Why Foley? Well, Jack Foley was one of the first and most famous sound effects guys in the business. A lot of the time on sets, especially within harsh or wet environments sound recording isn’t possible, so the foley artists creates these sounds artificially whig are then added to the film after filming.

So the next time you are walking out of the cinema ignoring the credits, at least you’ll know the jobs of the people who’s names you are ignoring.

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Events, offers and releases 17/03/14

Shailene Woodley and Theo James in a still from Divergent.

 

Shailene Woodley and Theo James in a still from Divergent.

Image via welivefilm.com

Divergent – Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet, Divergent is a continuation of the new cinematic genre such as The Hunger Games and Twilight. Set in a dystopian future, post-apocalyptic version of Chicago where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Woodley plays Beatrice Prior, she is ‘divergent’ and therefore does not fit into any of the factions set out, something that is not accepted by faction leader Jeanine Matthews (Winslet).

In cinemas March 21st, if you like The Hunger Games, you’ll love this.

Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Ty Burrell in a poster for the muppets

Image via hypable.com

Muppets Most Wanted – Modern Family’s Ty Burrell along with funny-people Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey join forces with the Muppets in this second instalment of the fun franchise. great for kids and adults alike, this film will have you laughing out loud.

In cinemas March 21st.

To book tickets visit Odeon.

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This week in history: 15th March – 22nd March

Marlon Brando as Mafia boss Vito Corleone

The 15th of March 1972 marked the entrance of the Corleone family into our lives. The Godfather, a mafia classic directed by Martin Scorsese, was adapted from a novel of the same name written by Mario Puzo. The film encountered controversy after its release, as the Italian-American Civil Rights League held a rally in Madison Square Gardens to protest the film, which they felt was a slur against Italian-Americans.

Marlon Brando as Mafia boss Vito Corleone

image via irishcareerman.wordpress.com

Julia Roberts became the first actress ever to earn a staggering $20 million for one movie on the 17th February 2000. As the lead role in director Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich, Roberts became the first female to command a pay cheque so high, following many A-list, male actors such as Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks.

For the first time, audiences were able to watch on as the televised broadcast of the Academy Awards took place. First organized in 1927, the 19th March 1953 marked the first time viewers were able to watch the world’s most prestigious film award ceremony.