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American Symphony

PG-13 Released Nov 24, 2023 1h 40m Documentary Music List
94% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
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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American Symphony

American Symphony

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Nate Tinner-Williams Black Catholic Messenger It’s clear the film spared no expense in following Batiste during the year 2022, as he explored the contours of his musical inspiration while battling personal challenges in and out of the public eye. Rated: A Aug 10, 2024 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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jen C A brilliant and moving story of what it means to be human. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/02/24 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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
Producer
Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino, Joedan Okun
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
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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