“Stirringly Poetic,” Ryuichi Sakamoto Doc opens Friday at AFS Cinema
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA opens this Friday, August 17th, at the AFS Cinema. Tickets are on sale now.
Ryuichi Sakamoto’s prolific career began as a member of the Japanese synth-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra (as seen here on “Soul Train” in 1980). Sakamoto would soon shift his focus onto film scores, composing the acclaimed scores for MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE, THE REVENANT, and THE LAST EMPEROR, for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Score. With shooting spanning over five years, RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA follows the musician as he navigates this period in his life including his diagnosis with stage 3 throat cancer, his anti-nuclear activism efforts following the Fukushima disaster, and his daily fascination with the sounds that are all around us and how their combination with synthetic sounds can make for a lasting musical impact.
Here’s what the critics are saying:
“The creative process is notoriously difficult to capture on camera, but by the end of this documentary, you will feel as if you not only understand Mr. Sakamoto intellectually, but also share a sense of the excitement he feels when discovering just the right match of sounds.” Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times
“The film serves as a stirringly poetic meditation on the pursuit of creation in the face of mortality.” Michael Rechtshaffen, The LA TIMES
“Stephen Nomura Schible’s documentary, “Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA” is not only a portrait of a great artist, but a sensitive and engrossing depiction of the act of creation and its process.” G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Watch the trailer for RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA below:
- Contributed by Claire Hardwick
