It’s the sound of someone finding a way back to their body by listening for its place in the world around them. Piano strikes are distorted until they rumble like rolls of distant thunder, while urgent strings press into the mix with such force that you can almost hear the first bloody streaks of orange sunlight creeping over the horizon and calling you home.
It’s a spare and haunted piece of work, punctuated by great silences that reflect the chaos of nature, as unpredictable and inviting as the surface of a frozen lake. Less than six months later, Sakamoto finished recording one of the best film scores of the 21st century.
“I couldn’t say no to because I admire him too much.” “I’m supposed to be on a hiatus period,” the musician can be heard confessing in Stephen Nomura Schible’s profound “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” a meditative new film about his life.
tomorrow, if possible - to discuss scoring a movie called “The Revenant.” Gaunt, sore, and weary just from waking up, Sakamoto accepted the invitation. The following spring, after Sakamoto completed an intense round of chemotherapy (and completely scrapped the album he was writing prior to his diagnosis), he received an urgent phone call from director Alejandro González Iñárritu asking him to fly to L.A. On July 10 of that year, Sakamoto made his illness known to the public, releasing a statement in which he expressed his need to take a break, and apologized “for all of the burden I will undoubtedly be casting upon everyone who has been working with me on various projects.” In June of 2014, the famed Japanese composer was diagnosed with Stage III throat cancer. Ask Ryuichi Sakamoto if a movie saved his life, and he’ll say yes.