Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus
Directed by Neo Sora

Thursday, May 9, 6 pm | BUY TICKETS

$12 | $8 Speed members

“What unfolds onscreen is no mere performance, no mere gesture, but a face-to-face between presence and absence.”—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

A celebration of an artist’s life in the purest sense, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus is the definitive swan song of one of the world’s greatest musicians.

In late 2022, as a parting gift, Ryuichi Sakamoto mustered all his energy to leave us with one final performance: a concert film featuring just him and his piano. Curated and sequenced by Sakamoto himself, the twenty pieces featured in the film wordlessly narrate his life through his wide-ranging oeuvre. The selection spans his entire career, from his pop-star period with Yellow Magic Orchestra and his magnificent scores for filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky) and Nagisa Oshima (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence) to his meditative final album,12.

Intimately filmed in a space he knew well and surrounded by his most trusted collaborators, including director Neo Sora, his son, Sakamoto bares his soul through his exquisitely haunting melodies, knowing this was the last time he would be able to present his art. 2023, Japan, DCP, in Japanese with English subtitles, 103 minutes. Recommended for 12+