It is interesting to see the difference in Searching for Sugar Man and Grizzly Man. Both are documentaries, but the execution of each is completely different. This goes to show that there is no strict formula for making a documentary. Grizzly Man rely's very heavily on found footage, as it is a documentary about found footage. I felt that the goal of the filmmaker, Werener Herzog, was to introduce people to an anomaly of a man, as well as the danger of living an extreme life. Timothy Treadwell at first seems like role model; someone who lives his life to the fullest and does good with it, but in the end Herzog shows the foolishness of Treadwell's lifestyle. I feel that Herzog accomplished his goal.
The film itself appears slow at times due to the lengthy footage shot by Treadwell, but this does not take away from the film, it creates the world of Treadwell, rather. It is clear that Herzog and his assistants did excessive research. There is an over abundance of information on Timothy and his work presented by Herzog, which is to be appreciated. The overall tone of the film is a calm curiosity; this is good because it establishes how Treadwell experienced the world of the grizzly bears. Overall I feel that the film succeeded in it's goal and I would recommend it to anyone. I'm giving it an 8/10.
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Unique is the word for this film. As far as documentaries go, it breaks the conventions of non-fiction story telling. When most of us think of documentaries, we think of reenactments, interviews, facts, and the shaky camera movements of the filmmaker capturing the story as it happens. While Searching for Sugar Man has its roots in documentary, it isn't what someone would expect from a documentary. First, every shot in the film must have been storyboarded. All of the shots were planned and carried out in a specific way. It was clear that no part of the film was being captured in the moment. It's as if the entire movie was scripted, except the dialogue in the interviews. I love this method. It really made a story out of the concept.
It was interesting to see animations used in a documentary. It gave me the sense of reading a story book about Sixto Rodriguez's life. The theme of the whole documentary was like a book, I felt. The mystery surrounding the character, the twists and conflicts in the story, and the framing of the shots all gave the impression of a story book. The filmmakers did an excellent job creating a character arc for real people. The mystery surrounding Rodriguez right from the beginning pulls the audience in. There was a clear and immediate attention grabber about his vague life and unexplained death that made me want to keep watching. As the story of Rodriguez continued, I felt as if I was actually coming to know him for who he really was. As a narrative, the story is really about the people of South Africa. They had an objective, to find Rodriguez. They drove the action of the film by continuously searching for him, even when they had no where left to go. In the end they achieved their goal and got what they wanted. The goal of the filmmakers, was to educate people about a phenomenon. How one man caused a revolution with his music and never knew a thing about it. They wanted to show how art can make an impact on people, under certain circumstances, that the artist may never understand; and to give Rodriguez the recognition he deserved. They achieved this goal throughout all aspects of the film. I would recommend this film to anyone, and I'm giving it a 9/10 |
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