Ryuichi Sakamoto’s final performances are captured by his son on the forthcoming film, Opus

The performances have been compiled for a forthcoming concert film called Opus, which was directed by Sakamoto's son Neo Soro. The world premiere is set for Venice Film Festival on 5 September.

The film includes performance of works by Yellow Magic Orchestra, score excerpts from films including The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and music from his final album 12. The movie was produced by Sakamoto’s wife and manager Norika Sora.

The film features a number of works that Sakamoto had not previously played as solo piano performances, including The Wuthering Heights, and Ichimei – Small Happiness, as well as a new arrangement for the 1978 Yellow Magic Orchestra track Tong Poo.

‘Opus’ Teaserhttps://t.co/IxSZE5PVih

"The film, which will world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, features Sakamoto and his piano alone on a stage, performing twenty of his compositions."#ryuichisakamoto#skmtnews#坂本龍一#skmt_OPUS

— ryuichi sakamoto (@ryuichisakamoto) August 28, 2023

Deadline have released a posthumous statement from Sakamoto in regards to the film: “The project was conceived as a way to record my performances – while I was still able to perform – in a way that is worth preserving for the future,” he explains.

“I played every piece at home which we recorded on an iPhone to construct the overall composition of the concert that will express the progression of time from morning into night. Everything was meticulously storyboarded so that the camera positions and the lighting changed significantly with each song,” he continues, offering an insight into the preparations that went into making the film perfect.

“In some sense, while thinking of this as my last opportunity to perform, I also felt that I was able to break new grounds. Simply playing a few songs a day with a lot of concentration was all I could muster at this point in my life. Perhaps due to the exertion, I felt utterly hollow afterwards, and my condition worsened for about a month. Even so, I feel relieved that I was able to record before my death – a performance that I was satisfied with,” he concludes in the statement.