Searching for Sugarman (2012)

a documentary film directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts of two Cape Town fans in the late 1990s, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true, and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which never took off in the United States, had become wildly popular in South Africa, but little was known about him there.

Excellent. Engrossing story, excellent music.

The life and times of Hank Greenberg

A few weeks ago a Peninsula patron asked me for a biography of Hank Greenberg. Intrigued, I asked him if he was doing research about the original Hammering Hank; he said it was purely personal interest. I remarked that Greenberg, among many other things, had mentored Ralph Kiner early on in his career. How could that be, the man wondered, as Kiner played in Pittsburgh and Greenberg in Detroit. I said that Greenberg had wound up in Pittsburgh.

That was one of the many details of his life that the film covered. His birth in New York, his Jewish heritage and religion, his prowess on the ballfield of James Monroe High school, in Bronx, NY; the Detroit scout's promise to get young Hank a scholarship to Princeton; the virulent anti-Semitism he had to handle in the majors; his success on the field; his enlistment in the Army (depriving his baseball career of three prime years). All those and many more were covered in great detail.

A wonderful documentary of a genuine American baseball hero (well, great; even he didn't see himself as a hero).

Gran Torino

Excellent. Eastwood plays a gruff retired auto worker who has just buried his wife. Cantankerous, he is aggravated by everything. Hmong have moved next door. Walt lives in the past, his Korean War service informing and haunting his every day. A chance encounter with his neighbors leads to friendships, loyalty, and sacrifice.

Funny, poignant, exceedingly well acted, directed and photographed, this is American film making at its best.