Review: “American Symphony”, between art and uncertainty
Whether documenting the terror inside a hospital during the peak of the pandemic in The First Wave , following vigilantes fighting cartels in Cartel Land , or covering the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan in Retrograde , Matthew Heineman 's name is associated with the word “danger.” However, in his most recent documentary, American Symphony , Heineman didn't have to risk his life to give us one of his best and most intimate works. Here he follows musician and composer Jon Batiste as he prepares the most important work of his career while facing a very delicate challenge in his private life.
Even if you're not aware of the modern music industry, you've probably heard the music of Jon Batiste, winner of the Oscar for Best Original Score for Soul and winner of the 2022 Grammy for Album of the Year for We Are . And if none of this sounds familiar to you, it doesn't matter because this documentary fulfills the task of showing you, in great detail, exactly who Batiste is: his gigantic talent, his creative process and his philosophy and, the differentiating aspect, the challenges. personal to him.
The day Jon Batiste received 11 Grammy nominations, his partner, writer and artist Suleika Jaouad, had her first chemotherapy session: after years in remission, her leukemia returned. Thus, Heineman shows us the intimacy of an artist balancing his career with his love relationship, because while Suleika goes to and from hospitals, Batiste is in the process of composing the historic symphony that he will present at Carnegie Hall, a legendary musical venue.
The work of Heineman and his editing team was titanic, as they reduced 1,500 hours of footage to an hour and 42 minutes of film poetry through which we observe a love story and a creative process in times of uncertainty. In a wonderful montage we see Batiste prepare his symphony but what we hear are his telephone conversations with Suleika, who from the hospital recounts his challenges and fears. In another scene we move completely organically from the subjects' moving wedding to a melancholic scene in which Batiste shaves Suleika in preparation for his treatment. And American Symphony constantly swings with total ease between uncertainty and hope, pain and love, without neglecting how all these elements are related to the creation of art.
There is an unforgettable scene in which Batiste, during a concert, dedicates a song to Suleika. Here, with exquisite photography that enhances the energy of the moment, Heineman captures the musical power of his artist and how he uses art to process her pain. He reminded me of the final minutes of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood when Tom Hanks' Mr. Rogers seems to be venting all his emotions on the piano. The difference is that Batiste turns all those complex emotions into an artistic piece that takes your breath away: the piano becomes a weapon to understand what the artist feels, as it transmits something that cannot be expressed in words.
During the symphony that gives the film its title, a blackout puts the evening at risk but Batiste responds with a formidable piano solo that Heineman uses to illustrate all the obstacles that the artist and his wife have overcome to create an unbreakable bond. This is American Symphony : an unforgettable demonstration of the power of art to connect, empathize and heal.
