100
NME by Andrew Trendell
Opus is yet another priceless gift from a once-in-a-lifetime talent – and a reminder of what we’ve lost. Goodbye maestro – and thank you.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus
Critic Rating
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Ryuichi Sakamoto, an iconic Japanese composer, could not perform much in his final years as his cancer progressed, which made performing too difficult. However, in 2022, Sakamoto played his final performance, of just him and his piano, which was put to film.
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What are critics saying?
100
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
Sora has made a work of magnificent minimalism. Its vision of immortality might be most stirring in the moments when Sakamoto’s elegant hands hover above the keyboard at the end of a piece. It’s as though he’s coaxing the final chords to resonate just a bit longer before they fade into something like silence but now, after his conjuring, much richer.
100
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Bilge Ebiri
A spare, lovely work directed by the late musician’s son, Neo Sora, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus is even more haunting on a big screen, where its shimmering black-and-white photography and elegant camera moves actually heighten the intimacy of the performance.
100
The New York Times by Alissa Wilkinson
For the fan, it’s an intensely moving experience. But even for the viewer without much knowledge of Sakamoto’s work, “Opus” holds its own as the rare cinematic space for contemplation.
91
IndieWire by Sophie Monks Kaufman
We are afforded the intimate sight of a man who gave his life to music making a final offering.
90
Variety by Todd Gilchrist
Far more than a showcase of his talent and productivity, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus lets Sakamoto deliver an elegy, and in the process, an autobiography of his creative journey, as captured through the precision and poetry of director Neo Sora’s camera.
89
Austin Chronicle by Kimberley Jones
Filmed in magnificent monochrome with the kind of richness that reminds you black and white are colors too, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus will put you in a contemplative place.
88
RogerEbert.com by Glenn Kenny
This is a terrific document and a testament.
80
The Guardian by Leslie Felperin
It’s a work suffused with emotional tones and shades, surprisingly not all of them sad even though the subject knew at the time of filming he had mere weeks left before he’d die of cancer.
80
Little White Lies by Xuanlin Tham
It’s hard not to feel like Sakamoto is in the room with you.
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