“Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” May 23, 2024, in Japanese (subtitled), black-and-white, Regent Theater, Arlington, MA. Several months before the Japanese composer, actor, activist Ryuichi Sakamoto died of cancer in 2023, he played one last concert of his compositions. I use the word concert advisedly. There is no studio audience. We are the audience for this concert. It’s just Sakamoto, his Yamaha piano, and a stage bare except for cables and lighting. This is a beautiful, moving presentation. It is both a labor of love and a statement of a presence he is fully aware is evanescent. Life is fleeting at best.
The sound is superb. He rarely speaks, and then only a few words; he is talking to himself. You can hear him pour his life into this performance as he breaths. He lets us know how difficult this is and the joy he feels as he plays through his face and his hands. We don’t see his face for the first 15 minutes or so. The camera positions changes every now and then. You watch him modify the piano for one composition. The black-and-white is crystalline.
If you’re a fan of his work, this is a must see. If you’re a fan of modern music, including music for films such as “The Last Emperor” or “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” see this film. Even if you’re not a fan, see this meditative film. Some of the music is hypnotic. Listen closely. It is, in a sense, the performance of a lifetime. Try pairing this as a double-feature with “Coda,” his musical memoir from 2017.
Be sure to stay with this to the very end.