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Synopsis
A celebration of an artist’s life in the purest sense, RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | OPUS is the swan song of one of the world’s greatest musicians. As a parting gift, in late 2022, Ryuichi Sakamoto mustered all of his energy to leave us with one final performance: a concert film featuring just him and his piano. Curated and sequenced by Sakamoto himself, the twenty pieces of his played in the film wordlessly tell the story of his life and his wide-ranging oeuvre. The selection spans his entire career, from his pop-star period with Yellow Magic Orchestra and his magnificent scores for filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci and Nagisa Oshima to his meditative final album, “12.” Intimately filmed in black and white, and surrounded by trusted collaborators—including director Neo Sora, his son—Sakamoto bares his soul through his exquisitely haunting melodies, knowing this was the last time he would be able to present his art. “A gift from a master . . . An intensely moving experience.”—Alissa Wilkinson, “The New York Times” (Critic’s Pick) “To call RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | OPUS a concert film would be correct and also drastically inadequate . . . A testament to the artistic spirit and, above all, an act of love.”—Sheri Linden, “The Hollywood Reporter”“A spare, lovely work . . . The culmination of a lifelong journey.”—Bilge Ebiri, “New York Magazine”