American Symphony

Play trailer

American Symphony

PG-13

Released Nov 24, 2023

1h 40m

Documentary

Music

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Netflix

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

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

Full Review

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

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Matthew Heineman

Director

Jon Batiste

Self

Suleika Jaouad

Self

Matthew Heineman

Producer

Lauren Domino

Producer

Joedan Okun

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles

98%

98%

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles

The Greatest Night in Pop

98%

89%

The Greatest Night in Pop

Watchlist

Moonage Daydream

92%

75%

Moonage Daydream

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Moonage Daydream

The Jesus Music

67%

97%

The Jesus Music

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Jesus Music

The Beach Boys

89%

81%

The Beach Boys

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Beach Boys

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2023

10 Films About Black Music That Turn Household Names into Household Stories

Rotten Tomatoes Predicts the 2024 Oscar Nominations

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now