In the last decade he was diagnosed with two different types of cancer. This Sunday the death of Ryūichi Sakamoto was finally confirmed during the past week. we left like this one of the essential figures of world culturean innovative musician and composer who took oriental music to new levels through his experimentation with sounds such as jazz or innovative electronics.
Sakamoto’s legacy was quite immense for how delicate and minimalist his compositions were. The world of cinema was greatly enriched by his occasional contributions in the field of soundtracks, leaving unique and really exciting jobs that are worth rescuing these days. His notes can be heard in these three formidable films that can be recovered via streaming.
‘The Last Emperor’ (‘The Last Emperor’, 1987)
Address: Bernardo Bertolucci. Distribution: John Lone, Peter O’Toole, Joan Chen, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong.
There is no doubt about how Sakamoto’s music ends up making this ambitious biographical work by Bernardo Bertolucci essential about the child emperor educated to be a puppet. His work in collaboration with other masters such as David Byrne and Cong Su deservedly awarded an Oscarsince only the main theme completes the setting of the film.
A tremendously classic film with epic vocation, in the style of David Lean but marked by the unique voice of Bertolucci, who wants to infiltrate Chinese culture to expose it. Sakamoto’s music, which used to build bridges between the eastern and the western, is essential so that these artistic intentions do not fall on deaf ears.
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‘High Heels’ (1991)
Address: Pedro Almodovar. Distribution: Victoria Abril, Miguel Bosé, Marisa Paredes, Cristina Marcos, Feodor Atkine.
It is not one of the most cited films when it comes to talking about essential Almodóvar classics, but the special rarity of ‘Tacones lejanos’ makes it highly esteemed and vindicable. The enveloping score by Sakamoto contributes to this, which manages to get in tune with how Almodóvar’s cinema usually sounds without losing his intoxicating personality.
A gruesome murder plot that reconnects a daughter with her mother and a judge in charge of the case who acts as a drag-queen at night, inspired precisely by the mother. the class of impossible extravagance that Almodóvar is capable of narrating fluently so that it does not dislodge excessively. Pure essence of Manchego cinema that is enriched by external influences, such as Ryūichi’s.
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‘The Revenant’ (‘The Revenant’, 2015)
Address: Alejandro González Iñárritu. Distribution: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck.
One of his last great contributions to the field of soundtracks was in the heartbreaking western by Alejandro González Iñarritu. A revenge story that also explores the connection with nature and the need to preserve it, something that undoubtedly connects emotionally with Sakamoto, who in life advocated environmentalism and pacifism quite a lot.
His music with electronic producer Alva Noto is another momentous work that defies Western sound conventions, captivating with layers of ambient atmosphere and string and wind sounds. The soundtrack rounds off a wild and demystifying proposal by the pioneers, stirring the bowels of the genre to make a powerful survival movie.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video, on Disney+ and on Movistar+ | Criticism in Espinof
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