T D aWednesday, September 5, 2012 - 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW REVIW
'Bad' breaks on top Sweet Motown underdog
- M_ - it
Midseason finale
leaves viewers
wanting more
By RADHIKA MENON
Daily Arts Writer
The front end of season five of
"Breaking Bad" made one thing
very clear: Walter White (Bryan
Cranston) is
no longer Mr. *****
Nice Guy. Kill-
ing innocent Breaking
people no lon- Bad
ger weighs
down his con- Season Five
science, and he Midseason
certainly feels Sundays at10 p.m.
no shame in AMC
throwing oth-
ers under the
bus. Heisenberg is no longer
just his alter ego - it's his entire
identity.
The midseason finale ended
differently than we're used to.
There were no final gunshots, no
bombs attached to wheelchairs -
instead, we were left with Hank
(Dean Norris) finding the answer
that we always knew he would
find. Though it may not have been
as cathartic as past finales, it still
managed to leave us wanting
more.
It was only a matter of time
before one of White's carefully
laid plans would go awry. But
Hank didn't find the ricin behind
the electrical socket, nor did he
happen across an extra cell phone
in the toilet behind him or the
piles of money that Skyler (Anna
Gunn) admitted she was unable to
launder.
No, Walt's downfall will come
in the form of an etched note
in a long-forgotten Walt Whit-
man book, gifted to Heisenberg
by none other than the late Gale
Boetticher (David Costabile),
a former cook in Gus Fring's
story in 'Sugar an'
"We're going to need a bigger briefcase."
(Giancarlo Esposito) operation
who met the barrel of Jesse Pink-
man's (Aaron Paul) gun at the end
of season three.
As the first half of the final sea-
son of "Breaking Bad" wraps, the
pieces begin to slide into place.
All of the menthat Mike Ehrman-
traut (Jonathan Banks) was pro-
tecting with his imposed "legacy
costs" were killed in penitentia-
ries around Albuquerque in an
eerily upbeat montage of prison
stabbings and arson, literally
ensuring that none of them would
speak of Walt's involvement inthe
Fringera.
Lydia's (Laura Fraser) inside
information about these men
essentially saves her life, as Walt
pockets the vial of ricin after a
meeting at a cafd, saving the poi-
son for the next time she acts out
of order. With Mike out of the
picture, Walt has implemented a
foolproof way.of ensuring loyalty:
Obey or Die.
In Lydia, Walt finds a new
partner of sorts. She convinces
him that the Czech Republic is
swarming with drug addicts,
and the international market is
a viable option for their regime.
And so Walt continues cooking.
In a beautiful montage set per-
fectly to Tommy James and the
Shondells's "Crystal Blue Persua-
sion," houses around Albuquer-
que begin sporting the yellow
and green tents of "Vamanos Pest
Control," while inside, Walt and
his new apprentice Todd (Jesse
Plemons) churn out ounce after
ounce of the pure blue candy.
It takes Skyler showing him
the storage garage filled with
enough money to "last them
ten lifetimes" for him to realize
that it's time to step away from
the game. And just like that, the
White children return home
and the entire extended fam-
ily seems to be well. But Marie
(Betsy Brandt) is talking over
Skyler who's talking over Walt
who's talking over Hank - it's an
unsettling feeling of calm chaos
and anticipation that eventually
leads to Hank's discovery.
If there was one imperfect
aspect to the otherwise superb
sequence ofevents,it's that Hank's
own intellect and expertise were
not what brought him the answer.
Rather, it was sheer luck that
he found the book stowed away
beneath other reading materials
in the White's bathroom.
So what does Hank's find mean
for the newly free Walter White?
Surely his past will come back to
haunt him, but the form of poetic
justice won't be revealed until
"Breaking Bad" returns next sum-
mer.
"You gotme," Hank remembers
Walt saying. Though he didn't
then, surely he does now.
By JACOB AXELRAD
Assistant Arts Editor
"Soon you know I'll leave you,
and I'll never look behind, 'cause
I was born for the purpose, that
crucifies your
mind." These *
are the haunt-
ing words of Searching
poet and musi-
cian Sixto for Sugar
Rodriguez. His Man
legacy is large-
ly unknown. At the
His lyrics have Michigan
faded into ano- Sony Picture
nymity. But Classics
if you're from
South Africa,
you're probably familiar with
these lines - they provided an
anthem to repeal Apartheid in the
early 1990s.
If this sounds incredible to you,
chances are it's nothingcompared
to the shockwave that hit Rodri-
guez himself when he realized
that his music was as significant
as Bob Dylan for an entire genera-
tion of South Africans. This was
a man who, after recording only
two albums with Detroit-based
label Motown, allegedly set him-
self on fire mid-concert - a cruel
testament to the broken promises
of record producers and the aban-
donment of his fans.
"Searching for Sugar Man," a
documentary by first time direc-
tor Malik Bendjelloul, is more
than just an underdog story. It's
a story of a man who was lost,
became a legend, and then, once
found, proved more puzzlingthan
one could have ever imagined.
Such is the scope of Bendjelloul's
film as he chronicles the journey
of two men to track down any
information that could lead to
the truth about their music idol,.
Rodriguez.
From the outset, the film is and owns the stage, deliveringthe
shrouded in mystery, as record music that's been circulating for
store owner Stephen "Sugar" years as bootleg records and was
Segerman and journalist Brian even banned from the radio waves
Currin explain what feels like by a government intent on shield-
a hopeless goose chase to track ing its citizens from its so-called
down Rodriguez. And given that anarchist themes.
he's been presumed dead for To watch Rodriguez inter-
years, any chance of them making act with audience members is
progress seems farfetched, to say to observe a long-lost brother
the least. finally coming home to his family.
Slowly, methodically, layers In the end, however, he returns
are peeled back until the movie's to Detroit, donating all funds
gut-wrenching core is revealed. from his numerous South Africa
A woman identifying herself as appearances to friends and fam-
Rodriguez's daughter posts on ily. Is it an unusual use of money
Segerman's website, The Great for astrugglingworkingman?Yes.
Rodriguez Hunt: he is alive. He But so is this entire heartbreaking
lives a common life in Detroit, story.
with no knowledge of his legend- . Watching him walk through
ary status across the ocean, and the Detroit snow, black coat
has never seen a dime inroyalties. pulled tight around himself, gui-
tar strapped to his back, you won-
der what happened to his music.
The Bob Dylan You wonder what went wrong,
what; deprived listeners of his
of South Africa. songs' profound mixture of maj-
esty and realism. But most of all,
you're humbly reminded of the
strength of the human spirit.
What proceeds from here is not He didn't capitalize on his "sad
a profile of a broken man, or a man songs," as one record producer
bitter at the world for taking what calls them in the film. He lived
was rightfully his. Rather, this is a them, each and every lyric, mined
man who chooses a life of simple from the depths of his heart, an
elegance - finding joy and mean- understanding of the plight of
ing working construction. In his America's working class so acute
first interview,' Rodriguez shifts it simply had to be true.
uneasily in his seat, signature At one point, one of Rodriguez's
dark sunglasses perched on his three daughters answers what she
face, laughing at the absurdity of thinks people back home will say
the whole thing. of her father's unbelievable Cin-
So, he's learned he's an icon in derella story.. She explains that
another continent. So, he trav- Detroiters need these kinds of
els to South Africa to perform stories. As do most of us.
for .20,000 screaming fans. "So That's exactly what "Sugar-
what?" he seems to think. He's man" gives us: The chance to
already found happiness in his life. believe, if only for a short while,
Why does he need another one? that desperate times can be over-
Yet Rodriguez, as always, is come. And, more importantly, that
full of surprises. He greets his there is still beauty to be found in
fans like the star he never was even the most dire situations.
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