It was no surprise that Ryuichi Sakamoto had been sick for some time. The legendary composer and pianist had a semi-public battle with throat cancer in 2014, temporarily hitting pause on work engagements and creative output. The documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, directed by Stephen Nomura Schible, elegantly captures Sakamoto’s gentle return to music in 2017 after living in remission from cancer. For fans, the film offered a glimmer of hope that our maestro would live cancer-free and continue to bless us with beautiful music. But the happy ending we hoped for wasn’t meant to be. The cancer came back in 2021, and Ryuichi Sakamoto died in March 2023. His final performance lives forever in Ryuichi Sakamoto | OPUS, a feature-length concerto directed by his son, Neo Sora.

It’s hard to find the words to convey just how powerful OPUS is. Watching Sakamoto put what energy he had left into this performance is both heartbreaking and devastatingly beautiful. Shot in black and white with practically no spoken words, Neo Sora puts the audience front and center to be immediately swept up in the protruding elegance of the Yamaha grand’s ivory keys. Sora doesn’t shy away from close-ups, which is a welcomed sight. Sakamoto’s signature eyeglasses are displayed in such stunning detail, as well as his soft, nimble hands and sturdily-constructed jacket.

His career-spanning final performance consists of twenty compositions, including “Lack of Love,” “The Last Emperor” “The Wuthering Heights,” “Aqua,” and “Opus,” and ends with Sakamoto’s most recognizable song, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.” Tears were flowing throughout the film but this finale gutted me. I couldn’t help but feel a little selfish watching him play. Here is a 71-year-old man, pushing through visible discomfort to give us, his fans, a final gift. For Sakamoto, the reason he is making this film is clear: it’s because he is dying. But instead of surrendering to the illness in self-pity, Sakamoto gracefully and selflessly offers us a lyrical elegy that will withstand time. His legacy is preserved in his music and fortunately, we can revisit this moment in time when Ryuichi Sakamoto graced the world with his stunning compositions through OPUS.

The film ends with Sakamoto’s favorite quote, projected on the big screen as a reminder to embrace the world as he did. It simply states, “Ars longa, vita brevis,” which translates to “Art is long, life is short.”

This review originally ran on November 15, 2023 as part of our AFI FEST 2023 coverage.

Ryuichi Sakamoto | OPUS is now playing in New York at Lincoln Center, with a national rollout to follow.