Today marks the one year anniversary of the death of Ryuichi Sakamoto. Last Saturday night, Super Sake Boy and I attended the premiere screening of Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus. Presented at the Elizabeth Murdoch Hall at the Melbourne Recital Centre, a room with incredible acoustics.
Ryuichi was originally diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. He died while undergoing treatment for terminal cancer on 28th March, 2023. Ryuichi conceived Opus as one final gift performance, as he realised he was no longer able to perform live. The filming took place at NHK Studio 509, which he considered to have the best acoustics in Japan. From 8th-15th September, 2022, they recorded a few pieces a day, as his deteriorating health allowed. Ryuichi’s son, Neo Sora, directed the film and it was produced by his wife, Norika Sora. Ryuichi curated the playlist himself, including music from a career that spanned almost 50 years. He chose each piece, along with the lighting and camera angles to express the progression from morning into night.
In the recording studio there is only a Yamaha grand piano, and many microphones to capture the sounds. Not only of the piano, but also every other sound in the room, turning music sheets, shifting on a piano stool.
The movie opened to complete silence from the audience. When Ryuichi started playing, the resonance in the room was breath catching. I looked at his familiar face on the screen, thinking how kind and gentle his face was. His white hair, dark eyes, and soft features. This face used to scare me when I was younger. I only knew it as the face of the Captain Yanoi, the commander of a Japanese POW camp in Java, in the movie Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence. The man who ordered David Bowie be buried in sand up to his neck. The man who adhered to the strict bushidō code of the samurai. A man who intrigued me and terrified me at the same time.
I realised how much I love his face now. How much I love his music, which regularly features on our dinner, driving, and writing, playlists. The beginning of each piece evoking profound emotion, with the beauty, simplicity, and precision. The comforting sound of the first few recognisable notes, while Ryuichi occasionally played with one hand and conducted himself with the other.
I studied his expressions as he played, captured beautifully in black and white. I wondered how he felt as he sat to play a small sample of his life’s work for the last time. How do you express the reverence for your creation when sharing it for the last time?
As he was playing Bibo no Aozora, he was pulled into the deeper, more sombre notes, the melancholy. The usual lightness that interrupts the desolation was missing. He looked to be battling, within himself, between the light and the dark. The hope and the bereft. It was heart wrenching to watch and hear. He muttered something about trying again, the only words spoken I the film.
As the movie edged toward the end time, I began to think that maybe Ryuichi was not going to play my two favourite pieces. The Last Emperor theme, and my very, very favourite piece of music ever, the theme to Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence. I reasoned with my emotional self, I was a bit teary, that this was Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Opus, not mine, and he was playing the pieces he had chosen. This performance, his final ever, was about him, not about me.
Just as I had accepted my own rationale, the first few notes of The Last Emperor began. It filled the space and my heart at once. It’s such a spectacular piece, and so incredible when played on the piano.
A couple more beautiful pieces, and then the unmistakable first bars of Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence. I held my breath so I didn’t whimper. I felt tears welling behind my eyes that started running down my cheeks. Gradually my tears became sobs, and eventually, I was a mess. Super Sake Boy and I were married to Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence. Ryuichi finished the piece and played Opus as I sat sniffling, trying to pull myself together.
Ryuichi Sakamoto’s music speaks to my soul. I find it hard to describe the emotional impact it has on me, but it’s wonderful and painful at the same time. I am so sad he will no longer produce any new music, but so grateful for the music he shared. If you have an opportunity to see this film, I highly recommend you do. It’s incredible. Don’t forget your tissues.
Read more about the film and watch a trailer here: IMDb Read my experience of watching Ryuichi Sakamoto’s movie Coda here. Images taken from the movie.
Beautiful recollection and review.