American Symphony

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American Symphony

PG-13

Released Nov 24, 2023

1h 40m

Documentary

Music

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Popcornmeter

94%

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50 Reviews

74%

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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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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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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

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Heather J

The whole documentary seemed unfocused and rambling to me. Much as I love Batiste's music, I wanted to see more focus on his wife Suleika's struggle with cancer and their support for one another. Whole sections focused too repetitively on his music . It couldn't have been tightened up and rearranged to be really powerful - instead, it was a lost opportunity to really pay tribute to love and creativity in partnership.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/07/24

Full Review

Daniel B

Seemed kind of a vanity project, didn't really go in depth to the creative process, didn't even show him performing music really until 45 minutes in, would have liked to learn more and hear more of his music instead of the personal stuff, as for his sick wife, every one has problems, should we care more about him cause he's on TV?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/23/24

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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

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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

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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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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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