American Symphony

Name: American Symphony
Genre: Biography, Music, Documentary
Released: November 24, 2023
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Jonathan Batiste, Suleika Jaouad

2023

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

No score yet

tbd

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

tbd	Your Score
tbd	User Score No score yet

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

American Symphony

Now Playing: American Symphony

Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date: November 24, 2023 | PG-13

Starring: Jonathan Batiste, Suleika Jaouad

Summary: In 2022, musician 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 embarks on his most ambitious challenge to date, composing an original symphony. This trajectory was upended when Batiste’s life partner — best-selling author SuleikaIn 2022, musician 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 embarks on his most ambitious challenge to date, composing an original symphony. This trajectory was upended when Batiste’s life partner — best-selling author Suleika Jaouad — learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned. American Symphony is an intimate portrait of two artists at a crossroads and a meditation on art, love, and the creative process. [Netflix]… Expand

Director: Matthew Heineman

Genre(s): Biography, Music, Documentary

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 100 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Karen Gordon

Dec 4, 2023

It’s intimate, quiet, lovely, and in spite of the melancholy, there are moments of real connection and joy. Read full review

David Fear

Nov 28, 2023

Yes, this look back at one extraordinary, joyous, painful year in the life is a music documentary. But American Symphony is also a love story, a look at the personal toll that illness takes on everyone involved (at one point, we ride shotgun during an uncomfortably intimate therapy session), a testament to leaps of faith, and a testimony to the idea that living isn’t a passive act even in the best of times, much less the worst. Read full review

Steve Pond

Nov 22, 2023

American Symphony is about the creation of art in the face of pressure, tragedy and heartbreak, and about the tension between the glory of creation and the pain of living. It manages to capture the glory but it never ignores the price. Read full review

Chris Willman

Nov 22, 2023

For this warm and lovely film’s most natural audience, which will most likely be families struggling with illness, the documentary’s final inconclusiveness may feel like a feature, not a flaw: Music is forever, and so is chemo, in some cases. Holding those elements in balance is one way to create a symphony. Read full review

Ben Kenigsberg

Nov 30, 2023

While some of the backstage material has an official feel (Batiste and Jaouad are listed among the many executive producers, along with Barack and Michelle Obama), the documentary does not shy from showing private moments. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Nov 29, 2023

This is a film that captures how art isn’t just how we heal; it’s how we live. And how we can each write our own symphony, especially if we have someone who inspires us to do so. Read full review

IndieWire Vikram Murthi

Nov 22, 2023

American Symphony greatly suffers from a lack of focus. Read full review

SEE ALL 11 REVIEWS

User Score

Write a Review

tbd

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

No reviews yet.