Indeed, he is a man of wide-ranging interests and accomplishments, still possessed of an active imagination and not quite willing to go gently into that good night. The composer also expresses a deep admiration for the works of Bach, as well of the films of Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, and how that director uses Bach in his movies (we return, time and again, to images and sounds from his Solaris).
#Ryuichi sakamoto coda streaming movie#
He survives (for now), and provides that movie with a gorgeous soundtrack, its melancholy main theme an expression of longing and regret no doubt informed by Sakamoto’s own new feelings of mortality. The cancer – which briefly made me fear that the “coda” of the title meant our titular subject was now deceased (I went into this movie cold, without any prior knowledge) – proves troublesome to the workaholic Sakamoto, beyond its threat of death, as he has just received director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s commission for The Revenant, and struggles to complete the score on time. After that, we jump forward to his diagnosis of Stage 3 throat cancer (for which he later undergoes treatment), and then jump back and forth between the present and the various highlights of his life and work. He first appears on screen visiting Fukushima, site of a 2011 nuclear disaster, gathering material for a composition (which we soon see performed), in which he expresses all the grief that such a site inspires. Lawrence (in which he also starred as the camp commander), The Last Emperor (for which he won an Oscar), The Sheltering Sky and The Revenant – to his many orchestral and chamber compositions, Sakamoto has more than made his mark on the world.īeyond his music, Sakamoto is deeply invested in environmental causes. From his time in the 1970s electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra (where he played keyboards), to his film-score work – including Merry Christmas Mr. Don’t be fooled by the graying hair and quiet manner, however Sakamoto has led a vibrant life of enormous creativity and experimentation, as we soon learn. The man is so effortlessly charming and unassuming that it is hard not to be immediately seduced by his graceful reserve. 1952), you need not fear the new documentary that bears his name, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda(the debut theatrical feature of director Stephen Nomura Schible), will not engage. If you don’t know Japanese composer of Ryuichi Sakamoto (b. A little late but worth the wait, HtN has a slew of reviews and interviews coming your way…) Whether it’s showing Sakamoto, now 66, attempting to coax some agreeable notes out of a piano that had been swept away in the 2012 tsunami or, some years later, striving to write more personally meaningful music as he attempts to regain his strength despite a daunting daily pill regimen, Schible’s thoughtfully articulate subject endearingly charts an uncertain future.( The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival ran April 18-29.
Iñárritu’s “The Revenant,” director Stephen Nomura Schible supplements the nicely chosen clips with something even more resonant. Lawrence,” Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor” and, most recently, Alejandro G. While dutifully chronicling Sakamoto’s musical journey from co-founder of the ’80s techno-pop outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra to writing acclaimed movie scores for Nagisa Oshima’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. The intimate documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” finds the accomplished composer in a deeply introspective place in both his life and career.įilmed over a period of several years during which time the iconic musician and vocal anti-nuclear activist was first diagnosed with Stage 3 throat cancer (he’s currently in remission), this gorgeous looking and sounding production offers rewarding insights into the creative process.