Musician extraordinaire Jon Batiste should be overjoyed. After all, it’s 2022 and the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been nominated for 11 Grammys.
But as we see in this well-executed film, on the same day the ‘Freedom’ singer gets the Grammy news he discovers his wife — best-selling author Suleika Jaouad — has learned that her cancer has returned.
Co-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama and backed by Netflix, the film follows Batiste during the tumultuous year 2022, as he experiences highs and lows as he tries to write an original symphony while dealing with his partner’s cancer battle.
A fascinating examination of the art of creation, the story is at its heart a moving love story.
American Symphony premieres on Netflix on Nov. 29.