Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

Neo Sora
Part of

61st New York Film Festival

September 29 - October 15, 2023

As a final gift to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s legions of fans, filmmaker Neo Sora (Sakamoto’s son) has constructed a gorgeous elegy starring Sakamoto himself in one of his final performances, an intimate, melancholy, and achingly beautiful one-man show recorded in late 2022 at NHK Studio in Tokyo.

DIRECTOR
Neo Sora
YEAR
2023
COUNTRY
Japan
RUNTIME
102 minutes
LANGUAGE
Japanese with English subtitles
START DATE
March 15, 2024

Ends Thursday!

When Ryuichi Sakamoto died in March 2023 at age 71, the world lost one of its greatest musicians: a classical orchestral composer, a techno-pop artist, and a piano soloist who elevated every genre he worked in and inspired and influenced music-lovers across the globe. As a final gift to his legions of fans, filmmaker Neo Sora (Sakamoto’s son) has constructed a gorgeous elegy starring Sakamoto himself in one of his final performances. Recorded in late 2022 at NHK Studio in Tokyo, this filmed concert is an intimate, melancholy, and achingly beautiful one-man show, featuring just Sakamoto and a Yamaha grand, as the composer glides through a playlist of his most haunting, delicate melodies (including “Lack of Love, “The Wuthering Heights,” “Aqua,” “Opus,” and many more). Shot in pristine black-and-white by Bill Kirstein and edited by Takuya Kawakami, this stirring film brings us so close to a living, breathing artist that it feels like pure grace. An NYFF61 Spotlight selection. A Janus Films release.

New York Times Critic's Pick. Opus holds its own as the rare cinematic space for contemplation.
Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

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