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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus review – a stark, emotional finale from master musician

In his last weeks of life, the Oscar-winning composer is filmed at the piano by his son. It is an almost wordless paean to a remarkable career

There are moments when director Neo Sora, Sakamoto’s son, turns up the lighting for the more upbeat songs and we can see the master smile, pleased with his own performance, or the composition, or … we know not what, as there is almost no dialogue, no nattering about the life. Shot in black and white with silvery shades of grey, the camera tends to track slowly or pan leisurely, in sync with the lento to moderato tempi of his playing. As one might expect given the circumstances, the music selection spans his career – from soundtrack work for The Sheltering Sky, The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, to adaptations of songs recorded with the electronic trio Yellow Magic Orchestra from the 1970s, and on to cuts from his later collaborations with German musician Alva Noto.

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