'Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus' to make world premiere in Korea in December

Movies

Published: 28 Nov. 2023, 15:18

'Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus' to make world premiere in Korea in December

Main poster for ″Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus″ [MEDIA CASTLE]

A concert film starring the late Japanese maestro Ryuichi Sakamoto will make its world premiere in Korea on Dec. 27, film importer Media Castle announced Tuesday.

"Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus" will open for the first time in Korea, containing the last performance of the late pianist and composer. The film will show Sakamoto performing after a long break due to fighting cancer since 2014.

Over 20 songs encompassing Sakamoto's musical life, from film scores while active as part of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra to songs included in his last album "12," will be featured in "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus."

Sakamoto personally participated in curating and selecting the songs to be played at this last concert.

Sakamoto died on March 28 this year at the age of 71, and his death was announced in April. He was one of Japan and East Asia's most prolific musicians and the first Asian to win an Oscar for Best Original Score for the 1987 film "The Last Emperor."

Sakamoto worked on Korean films and projects during his lifetime alongside scoring music for Japanese and Hollywood films, including the original soundtrack for the Korean movie "The Fortress" (2017) and launching the Ryuichi Sakamoto Social Project Korea in 2010. He also collaborated with renowned Korean artists such as Paik Nam-june and Lee Ufan.

Sakamoto was known not only as a celebrated composer and musician but also as an activist and actor. He debuted as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra with bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in the 1970s. Sakamoto composed original songs for a number of films, including "The Sheltering Sky" (1990), "Little Buddha" (1993) and "The Revenant" (2015).

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]