American Symphony is a 2023 American biographical documentary film, written, shot, and edited by Matthew Heineman. It explores a year in the life of musician Jon Batiste, his music career, and his wife's struggle with leukemia. It had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023, and was released by Netflix on November 29. The film received a Best Original Song nomination, for "It Never Went Away", at the 96th Academy Awards.

Premise

Explores a year in the life of musician Jon Batiste, chronicling his career in music (including his 11 nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards) and the struggles his wife, Suleika Jaouad, faces with leukemia.

Release

American Symphony had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023. Shortly after, Netflix and Higher Ground Productions acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on November 29, 2023.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 27 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "More than a standard musician's documentary, American Symphony uses its behind-the-scenes access to present a portrait of courage and creativity." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

= Accolades

=

Notes

References

External links

American Symphony on Netflix American Symphony at IMDb