American Symphony

PG-13

Released Nov 24, 2023

1 hr. 40 min.

Documentary

Music

List

94%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Early in 2022, multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with eleven Grammy nominations including Album of the Year. In the midst of that triumph, Jon is immersed in his most ambitious challenge yet: composing American Symphony, an original symphony that reimagines the traditions of the classical form, bringing together an expansive and inclusive diaspora of music for a performance at storied Carnegie Hall. This extraordinary trajectory is upended when Batiste's life partner -- best-selling author Suleika Jaouad -- learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned. In the intimate AMERICAN SYMPHONY, Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, The First Wave, Retrograde) delivers a portrait of two inimitable artists at a crossroads and a profound meditation on art, love, and the creative process.

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Critics Consensus

More than a standard musician's documentary, American Symphony uses its behind-the-scenes access to present a portrait of courage and creativity.

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dave d

Generally when a Matthew Heineman film is put forth into the universe, it immediately moves to the top of my list! Unfortunately, his latest is as pretentious of a documentary as I've seen recently. Essentially this is an empty husk of feigned importance for a film that doesn't matter and will be forgotten shortly after watching. I'm relatively certain the subjects, musician Jon Batiste, and his wife, Suleika Jaouad, are nice people, but this came off so manufactured. Inauthentic at its core and it most certainly didn't make me a fan of Batiste, however talented he may be! Final Score: 3/10

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

Ma'ark T

Jon Batiste is obviously somewhat of a musical genius. Both he and his wife Suleika are very likeable subjects of this doco. The human moments dealing with cancer and anxiety etc are great but when it ended I felt as if more insight into the music would have held my attention more.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

JonNookI

I'm on a journey to watch all of the 2024 Oscar nominees, and next up was American Symphony, a documentary about a year in the life of the five-time Grammy winning artist, Jon Batiste. American Symphony is fine, and I did like learning about Jon Batiste, an artist who I hadn't really heard of before his Oscar Nominations, though this documentary didn't go deep enough into his life for me, and it felt quite directionless. A lot of it also felt staged, and I don't know how much, if any of it was, but overall it really didn't feel like it knew where it was going, as it felt more like a bunch of random clips from his life edited together to make a documentary, rather than something that can actually teach you a lot or be entertaining. Overall it was okay, but I wouldn't exactly recommend it, unless you happen to be a big Jon Batiste fan and really want to know more about him, his wife and their relationship, though you would probably be better off watching an interview or just doing a Google search.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

Full Review

Jim K

Great inside look into the triumphs, challenges of making art while living in an imperfect world

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

Full Review

LINDA C

Profound and moving. Love most will not know 7 stars

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

Full Review

Vitoria F

Although the title indicates that the documentary is about the symphony, two more parallel stories were presented (the awards ceremony and the battle against cancer) focusing on how Jon Batiste reacted to all of this. In other words, what the film shows most are his anxieties and insecurities. For me, who didn't know him, I couldn't understand what was different about his work and why a documentary was made. Because it is only said that his work is considered good, it is not shown why.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

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Matthew Heineman

Director

Jon Batiste

Self

Suleika Jaouad

Self

Matthew Heineman

Producer

Lauren Domino

Producer

Joedan Okun

Producer

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Robert Levin

Newsday

It's not just for Batiste fans. There have been few better movies about the creative process.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 31, 2024

Full Review

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

This is a film that captures how art isn’t just how we heal; it’s how we live.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 6, 2023

Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

While some of the backstage material has an official feel, the documentary does not shy from showing private moments.

Nov 30, 2023

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

A love story about how the creative process creates both music and healing.

Rated: 5/5

Mar 17, 2024

Full Review

Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

Batiste and Jaouad are intensely grounded – they have to be – and as such, their humour and their joy have greater weight.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 20, 2024

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Pleasing documentary--a well-conceived biopic on the multi-talented musician Jon Batiste.

Rated: B-

Jan 21, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Early in 2022, multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with eleven Grammy nominations including Album of the Year. In the midst of that triumph, Jon is immersed in his most ambitious challenge yet: composing American Symphony, an original symphony that reimagines the traditions of the classical form, bringing together an expansive and inclusive diaspora of music for a performance at storied Carnegie Hall. This extraordinary trajectory is upended when Batiste's life partner -- best-selling author Suleika Jaouad -- learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned. In the intimate AMERICAN SYMPHONY, Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, The First Wave, Retrograde) delivers a portrait of two inimitable artists at a crossroads and a profound meditation on art, love, and the creative process.

Director: Matthew Heineman
Executive Producer: Jon Batiste, Steven Farneth, David Fialkow, Nina Fialkow
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Higher Ground Productions, Our Time Projects, Mercury Studios
Rating: PG-13 (Some Strong Language)
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 24, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2023
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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