Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

When artists strip their tools down to a minimum, their true artistry comes out.

I found this film to be very soothing but also emotionally charged. The way Sakamoto said his goodbyes to the world using just a piano is so sensitive, I doubt such a journey has even been captured as strongly as this.

The film is very laid-back, the pieces are slow and melodic. The sound recording is great. Not only is the piano recorded fantastically allowing its harmonies to sing, at times there is a significant component of ambient sound mixed in so you can hear Ryuichi breathing as he plays.

I found myself in a movie theater not watching a film, but rather just listening to it with my eyes closed. The entire audience was mesmerized. The man's presence was felt through the medium.

While I understood the gimmick at the end, I thought it was a bit unnecessary and heavy-handed. That's a very minor point of criticism though. Recommended viewing.

I count my blessings that work afforded me the opportunity to meet Ryuichi Sakamoto twice and watch two of his concerts when he toured across Asia for the release of the albums SWEET REVENGE, and 2 years later 1996.

Even though I sat face-to-face next to him in two different interviews, and watched him perform live, none of those encounters (nearly 3 decades ago) were able to make me feel the same sense of candid immediacy as this solo performance - OPUS has the ability to make the audience feel he played that piano and his music JUST FOR YOU. The film, to me, feels like it was made for both fans of Sakamoto, and people already familiar with his work and more importantly, his demeanor and the nuances to his way of play - the extreme close-ups, the cutaways to his reflection on the piano, hair, back, hands, his gestures and grimace as he plays, pause, and ponder, made to feel all the more alive by leaving in, or enhancing the vibe by integrating ambient sound in the studio into the space between each musical piece and as he performs - all of that help to place us - the audience, as if we were right there with him as he performed for that one last time... compared to all the past concert films and documentaries on Ryuichi Sakamoto, OPUS has neither a concert-hall filled with his diehard fans, nor does it delve into his almost-obsession of "Sound." Instead what the audience get is an experience of Sakamoto playing his music for you only.

Off stage, the Sakamoto I met was a quiet, observant, and slow to warm private man... until you hit a topic that interests him to unlock the guard he so comfortably is shielded by - from disliking the generic Jpop top acts of the time, to comparing 2 different Japanese authors both named Murakami (back in the 90's Sakamoto thought one was a hack, and the other "innovative, daring, and fresh" while admitting the dark topics Ryu Murakami wrote about were not to everyone's liking). Norika Sky Sora, his girlfriend at the time (whom he later married), was always nearby and the two would take cigarette breaks between interviews with their Gitanes... Sakamoto spoke about how the music industry in Japan was stuck with an old boys club arrangement, and if he had his way, music would not have to be distributed by means of just selling physical records or via the internet with the development of digital distribution technologies - there would no longer be boundaries due to geography or language differences... all that became a reality in the decade that followed, and I'm sure it made Sakamoto both happy and feel challenged at the same time. He spoke of his ambition and hope for music to have its own life, and his belief that "sounds" is both a part of, and as a proof of life itself - with OPUS, producer Norika Sora, and their son Neo, helped Ryuichi Sakamoto bid farewell without needing to say or treat this as a "Goodbye" - this sense of being in the Present, and not Past, is not what I expected as a takeaway from a concert film, even as a fan of Sakamoto's music. While some reviews here complain about the performance would have been more engaging if shown in color, in my opinion the choice of black/white allows the music itself to bring us our own unique interpretation to a spectrum of hues - as if this was his intention all along to ensure that not only his music, but also his vibe and presence, remain alive and a personal art form unique to each of us long after he's gone.

If you've not watched Opus yet or are about to, hit pause and watch Coda first if you've not already. The documentary gives a really wonderful broad introduction to Sakamoto and his work, before you sit down to appreciate what's happening here. This is a concert film. His final performance before his passing in 2023. He'd not toured or played for years on account of the cancer diagnosis. Opus is the very definition of a defiant last goodbye. Shot in Japan in beautifully crisp black and white. Just him and the piano, it's very intimate. No audience, the viewer gets their own personal concert with the very best seat in the house, often sat right next to Sakamoto. It's beautifully shot, but you can close your eyes and still appreciate Opus. It's the music after all where the magic lies. Watching him play though is a treat. The way he moves, the hand motions as he orchestrates the pianos sustain at the end of a song. Repositioning his glasses or retuning the piano, adding a metallic reverb to the strings. The poignant moments when he takes a break, inaudibly talking to someone off camera as he catches his breath from a cough. Capturing work like this is not easy, but here it seems effortless. It's a beautiful piece of work, lovingly put together by his son Neo Sora. A fitting finale.

8/10.

Consisted with a live performance of Ryuichi Sakamoto performing the piano throughout, this documentary-like concert movie is a beautiful, touching, and memorizing experience to listen Sakamoto perform on the piano key of various works as his way of saying farewell before his passing in 2023.

Using black and white presentation and having extremely well made sound auto, the piano pieces are slow, melodic, and allows the musical score to wave through the viewers ears, as you are able to draw yourself into his world, his music, and his soul. Having listened to many of his works, listening to the music really adds into me and just felt mesmerized throughout.

Farewell Sakamoto as he may rest in peace.

The most impressive thing about Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, after Sakamoto's performance itself, is the recording quality.

There is clarity across the whole audible sound spectrum, you can hear Sakamoto's feet pressing the pedals, his every breath, the rising and setting of the dampeners. When he is turning his score, you immediatly hear that it was printed on thick, heavy paper. It is absolutely clear that the sound crew on this recording were true professionals.

The Director, Neo Sora, always has the camera slowly gliding or zooming. This constant gentle motion helps the viewer to enter an almost meditative state and concentrate on the music.

From time to time though, I would have preferred more shots of the beautiful Yamaha grand piano doing its work instead of what felt like overly avent-garde shots of shadows, reflections or the studio's wall panels.

Even more I would have preferred shots where Sakamoto's eyes are visible. He knew that this would be his last public performance, and he is putting all of his soul into it - one of the two lines of dialogue in the movie is him saying he needs a break because he is pushing himself too far - so his face is full of emotion during his whole play. But we almost NEVER see his eyes clearly - they are almost always blocked by microphones, his hair or the frame of his glasses.

I don't think the decision to film in B&W was the right one; the set looked like it was already mostly black, so you are only loosing some clarity of the picture and probably some deatails on Sakamoto's face, without really gaining anything. This is however only my subjective opinion.

The lighting however is beautiful. The light cuts clear lines and shadows, and the varying illumination helps maintain visual alternation troughout the movie.

Of course quieter parts are part of a concert like this. Unfortunately though, a cinema isn't a concert hall, so you will here a constant white noise from the AC unit, which you usually don't notice on "normal" films, and if you are unlucky also people talking, opening soda cans, leaving the venue, etc.

I think this performance is best enjoyed at home with some high fidelity headphones.

Sakamoto displays an incredible connection to the instrument in his performance. If you are a fan of his work, or just this style of classical music in general, this is a film for you.

Rest In Peace Ryuichi Sakamoto, 1952 - 2023. The world is poorer without you.