Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA flows with the same haunting grace that latches itself on to one of Sakamoto's iconic scores or compositions.

| Feb 11, 2022

A sensational portrait of a legendary musical poet. I could watch this 100 times and still be fascinated by its beauty.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 7, 2020

Stephen Schible's documentary biography of the great film composer is not only an interesting portrait of an artist but a sensitive and engrossing exploration of the act of creation itself.

| Nov 6, 2020

An intimate portrait of one of the great musical legends...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 23, 2020

Spend some time with Riyuchi Sakamoto and you will see and hear the world differently. It's what some of us want in a movie experience.

| Nov 22, 2019

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda perfectly captures the somber side of the beloved composer but fails to better engage the other facets of his work and history.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 17, 2019

As we see vintage footage of the younger composer with jet-black hair, the artist's now-white hair and grizzled face make one wonder about the very purpose of decay...

| Mar 15, 2019

a moving and marvelous look at an artist and his inspirations through decades

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 20, 2019

There may not be enough conventional reference to the subject's life - marriages, children, and career - but that's because the film is unafraid to suggest that Sakamoto's music is his life.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 24, 2018

Ryuichi Sakamoto's infectious curiosity about nature and the music of life, make for an engaging and moving subject. Highly recommended.

| Original Score: 18/20 | Nov 19, 2018

An intimate portrait of a man coming face to face with his mortality.

| Oct 31, 2018

Schible's documentary - while not particularly well shot - is a very useful insight into the work of a major composer.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 26, 2018

For fans who have been following his music career over the past four decades, you simply cannot pass up the opportunity to watch this as soon as you can.

| Oct 18, 2018

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is a fascinating look inside Sakamoto's process for creating art, and his humility in the face of nature's own creative process.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 18, 2018

But the primary appeal of "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda" comes from following this humble, quiet man as he reminisces, composes, and contemplates nature.

| Sep 18, 2018

Rarely does an artist profile so thoroughly embrace the style of the artist it's profiling.

| Aug 20, 2018

Those who are interested in how documentarians capture artistry on film will find good examples in Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda. It helps to come to the film with some foreknowledge of Sakamoto's career, however.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 16, 2018

Unlike most music documentaries, this one isn't so much geared for fans of the artist as it is fans of intimate character portraits.

| Aug 16, 2018

Despite the foreboding title, Ryuichi Coda is an often-joyous film. We share the composer's wonder as he samples raindrops in a coffee cup, a violin bow across a cymbal, or simply sitting in front of his computer, creating hair-raising washes of sound.

| Original Score: A | Aug 5, 2018

Isn't a life story or a deep-dive character study. Rather it is a heartfelt mediation on the creative process, with elegantly presented ideas on nature, music, mortality and things out of tune.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 2, 2018