I wrote a movie review of this inspiring film before it won the Oscar (click here) after I saw it at the Crossroads Festival Theater (where it is still playing once a day). And last week the Loft Theater, which had originally shown this movie, brought it back for one night on April 11.

Seeing this movie the 2nd time brought to reality the role that Rodriguez’s existential, anti-establishment lyrics had on the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

The star of the film, Sixto Rodriguez is now on tour, and coming to Tucson on April 19, at the AVA Amphitheater, 5655 W. Valencia Road. Online tickets at tickets.solcasino.com, or call 1-800-344-9435. More info:http://www.rialtotheatre.com/news/archives/2013/02/rodriguez_at_av.html. Originally he was supposed to perform at the Rialto Theater downtown on Congress St, but due to his recent popularity, the venue was changed to the AVA Amphitheater at Casino del Sol, to accommodate the thousands of new fans.

All ages welcome, doors open at 7 p.m., for the 8 p.m. live show. Giant Sand will also be performing, and tickets are $20 and up.

Listen to new phenomenon Rodriguez perform this week, then see the film (or vice versa). DVDs of the film are also already available at Casa Video and at the Pima County Public Library.

Rodriguez’s nationwide tour starts off in Mesa, Arizona on April 18, comes here, then goes on to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Salt Lake City, Broomfield (CO), Dallas, Austin, New Orleans, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, St. Paul (MN), Chicago, and ends up in his hometown of Detroit, MI, all in a month! Some of his songs are also on youtube.com. I especially like the haunting lyrics of “I Wonder”.

It is truly an inspiring movie of how two Cape Town, South African individuals (a record shop owner and a journalist) who both happened to love the haunting guitar songs of an unknown American musician Sixto Rodriguez go on a hunt for information about him. There had been a myth that Rodriguez had committed suicide while on stage, after only producing two record albums, “Cold Fact” in 1970 and “Coming From Reality” in 1971. Rodriguez had been wildly popular back then in South Africa, but his poetic music had not caught on anywhere else including Detroit, Michigan where he had been singing in bars as a young man.

The documentary is interspersed with songs by Rodriguez, and is basically the story of how the two fans found him years later via the internet and one of his 3 daughters, and how they brought him to South Africa in March, 1998 where he is considered a super star. He performed there in six sold-out concerts before thousands of fans. But back in Detroit he lives alone and is not a rich man, doing construction/renovation/demolition work.

What is amazing and heartfelt about this movie is the love of the white South Africans for this mysterious Hispanic male singer, considering their history of apartheid, which was abolished officially in 1990. And despite the sudden fame, Rodriguez remained humble and unassuming.

If you don’t know of Rodriguez (I didn’t) this is an inspiring, unusual movie considering the distance and cultural differences between impoverished Detroit, Michigan and Cape Town, South Africa.

Find out on Feb. 24 if this film wins the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. I’ve also seen two other films in that category, “The Invisible War” (about rape/sexual assault in the U.S. military) and “Five Broken Cameras” (about the Israeli border wall on the West Bank, and non violent Palestinian demonstrations against it over a 5 year period).

UPDATE: Save the date for April 19, as Rodriguez is coming to the AVA Amphitheater due to popular demand (no longer at the Rialto Theater, which was too small for the large # of fans):
http://www.rialtotheatre.com/news/archives/2013/02/rodriguez_at_av.html

UPDATE 2/24/13: “Searching for Sugar Man” wins Best Documentary Feature Oscar at 2013 Academy Awards. See this movie, still playing at the Crossroads Festival movie theater, though only once a day right now.

So I started pondering about what I liked about central/midtown Tucson, where we have lived (two apartments, one home) for over 25 years. So here’s my informal list of 10 things I like about Midtown. Click on the blue hyperlinks if you are new to Tucson and need more information.

1. Himmel Park (south of Speedway, between Tucson Blvd. & Treat Avenue), has tennis courts recently resurfaced, an open air pool now open again for the summer, lots of grass, playing fields, an outdoor grass amphitheater for plays/concerts. A Shakespeare in the park performance of “The Taming of the Shrew” is performing there opening tonight, for three weekends at 7 p.m. $5 suggested donation, to benefit El Rio Theatre Project.

2. Himmel Park Branch Library, oldest branch library of Pima County (built in 1961), children’s storytime, teen activities, Senior Games (including mahjong), films & lectures, lots more, even books to borrow.

3. Reid Park at NE corner of E. 22nd St. and N. Country Club, much larger park with an outdoor performance center & stage, ramadas, playground equipment & stone turtles for children, a rose garden, dog run, a duck pond & gurgling streams, artistic sculptures, etc.

4. The Reid Park Zoo for the children and out of town guests: elephants, tigers, bears, (oh my!), even unusual anteaters and a capybara.

5. The Loft Theater, 3233 E. Speedway, independent and creative movie showings, plus a promised expansion and often freebies during special events

6. Casa Video, 2905 E. Speedway, terrific collection of recent and old DVDs and videos, plus free popcorn whenever you drop in (open daily 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.)

7. Yoshimatsu/Sushimatsu at 2660 N. Campbell – authentic Japanese food in two unique restaurants, plus a very cute gift shop of Japanese items, toys

8. Bookman’s on Grant (SE corner of Campbell): a used book store and much more – gift items, art paraphernalia, current magazines, musical instruments, electronic stuff, even jewelry. And a new Bookman’s is coming to E. Speedway near Camino Miramonte.

9. The University of AZ, between Speedway & E. 6th Street, between Euclid Ave. and Campbell, not only an undergraduate & graduate university, but a resource for the community with art displays, outdoor sculptures, lectures, musical & dance performances, festivals & workshops, intellectual stimulation for all ages. Starting tomorrow an 8-day Chinese Culture Festival, event schedule at www.confucius.arizona.edu.

10. Bicycle path on E. 3rd St. runs from Wilmot Road westward through midtown past lovely, small Miramonte Neighborhood Park (NW corner of Richey Blvd.), one block south of Himmel Park aforementioned (Treat Ave. and Tucson Blvd.), right through the University of Az (on University Blvd.) through to 4th Avenue and Stone Avenue, with several bicyle-friendly “hawk” crossings to help bicyclists cross the major intersections. For more info on bicycling and bike maps in Tucson, go to Tucson Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee website (click here).

These are the 10 things that make my life more enjoyable and fun in midtown Tucson. What are yours?

Just viewed this 1956 movie filmed partly in Tucson and Arizona, which is a griping drama with old time favorite film stars such as Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward. The movie’s theme focuses on Greed, one of the 7 deadly sins.

Short synopsis of plot: Poor and ambitious college student Bud Corliss plots to kill his rich (& pregnant) girlfriend Dorothy, as he is afraid she will be disinherited once her father finds out she is pregnant, despite her promise to marry him. He accomplishes this heinous deed off the top of the now-Chase Bank building downtown on Stone Avenue (SE corner of Congress St., formerly the Valley National Bank). It was probably the tallest building in downtown Tucson back in 1955. And he makes it look like a suicide. And true to the title, Bud kisses her before she dies.

Then the plot thickens as Ellen, sister of Dorothy begins to investigate her alleged suicide with the assistance of her sister’s former college professor, nephew of the Tucson Chief of Police.

Another murder ensues but I won’t disclose that part of the exciting plot. And there’s a twist at the ending filmed at a nearby mine in Arizona. Someone has suggested to me that it may have been the Morenci Mine. Update: I just found out it was the Duval mine near Sahuarita.

Note: There’s a scene of star Wagner sitting calmly on a bench reading a newspaper (hopefully the former Tucson Citizen) in a park west of the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court on Church Avenue. And long time Tucsonans may be able to recognize other scenes of Tucson (such as the Pago Pago tiki bar which used to be on Oracle Road, and a horse back riding scene out west of the city). Anybody recognize other Tucson locales?

The 1991 remake was filmed on the East Coast, starring Matt Dillon, Sean Young and Max Von Sydow. The newer version is much more grisly than the first, with Corliss becoming a serial killer, all in the name of overwhelming Greed. The alleged suicide of Dorothy occurs early in the sequel, with Sean Young playing both sisters (now twins). Both father & sister Ellen become aware of Dorothy’s pregnancy in the remake, which has other plot changes. The 1991 version which takes place in NYC and Philadelphia, is a lot darker & more menacing as a suspense thriller. It also has a twist at the end, with an explanation of why Corliss did what he did to get ahead in life.

The 1956 original movie is available at the Pima County Public Library, and I rented the newer version from Casa Video on Speedway.

movie poster

This is a true and extremely gripping story of East Berliners trying to escape into West Berlin in 1961 as the Berlin Wall was being built. Harry Melchior, East Germany’s swimming champion defects (using a false passport), and then starts digging a tunnel 145 meters under the border to help his sister and husband and their daughter escape. He enlists the aid of other German political refugees who want to save their family members as well.

Growing up in a free country, we normally only hear of what it was like to live in a fascist country where one can be imprisoned for exercising free speech or criticizing the government. That point is well made in this movie, as well as the desperate attempts others made to cross the border wall. Some got shot trying to run for freedom.

Casa Video (www.casavideo.com) at 2905 E. Speedway, my favorite video store for foreign flicks, has this DVD “The Tunnel” (in German, with English subtitles) in stock. It will really make you appreciate just being born free, and not having to flee a country with only what you can carry with you.

Coming up this Thursday October 8, as part of an undergraduate class is “Trace of Stone” (“Spur der Steine”), a 1966 movie about “living and working conditions in the GDR (German Democratic Republic- East Germany) of the 1960′s”, including a love story of a construction foreman. This movie will show at 7:30 p.m. at the Integrated Learning Center (ILC) 150 and the community is invited to join the class and discussion.