Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

With a career spanning five decades, Ryuichi Sakamoto began as a founding member of the trailblazing synth-pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra before crafting his own electronic projects like B-2 Unit (1980). However, Sakamoto is most widely known for his successful career composing extraordinary music for numerous films, including award-winning scores for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983); The Last Emperor (1987); Little Buddha (1993); and The Revenant (2015). 

After long battles with cancer, Sakamoto asked his son, filmmaker Neo Sora, to capture his last performances. Recorded only a few months before his death in March 2023, Opus shows Sakamoto alone at a piano playing music from throughout his career—and the result is cinematic, moving, intimate, and inspiring. Dramatic black-and-white lighting frames a sublime artist assessing his life’s work and giving audiences one final offering. More than a concert film, Opus is an offering of grace. In Japanese with English subtitles. (102 mins., 4K DCP)