Ryuichi Sakamoto | OPUS

The very last farewell from a legendary Japanese musician and composer comes from his own son, Neo Sora. A contemplative farewell gift from Sakamoto and his piano.

Before the screening of the film at Vega Scene on 17 November at 18.30, there will be an introduction by Heloisa Amaral, who is the director of the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival.

If you have a festival pass and are having trouble booking a ticket for the screening at Vika 1 at 20:00 on Friday, November 15, please email [email protected], and we will add you to the guest list.

When Ryuichi Sakamoto’s cancer had reached stage four, the 70-year-old composer reached out to his son to record and film his last opus. He created new arrangements of many of the most important works of his decades-spanning career, from his time in the Yellow Magic Orchestra to famous scores from films such as Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) and The Last Emperor (1987).

Seeing him alone with a piano, weakened by cancer, you most of all feel Sakamoto's persistence. His compositions have a unique way of nurturing contemplation, and Opus is no exception.

«Opus lets Sakamoto deliver an elegy, and in the process, an autobiography of his creative journey, as captured through the precision and poetry of director Neo Sora’s camera.»

– Todd Gilchrist, Variety –

Kristoffer Holen

Director

Neo Sora is the son of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, the subject of his first feature-length film, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023). His fiction feature debut was Happyend (2024).

This film is part of