Netflix documentary film “American Symphony”, which came out a few days ago, simply presents a slice of life and art from John Batiste, who has been one of the most prominent American musicians during last several years. Although the documentary does not tell or show a lot about his life and career, Batiste still comes to us as an interesting human being and artist to observe and appreciate, and it is also sometimes touching to watch how he sincerely tries to balance himself between his career and his private life.

The documentary closely follows one particularly eventful period in Batiste’s life. In September 2021, he received no less than 11 Grammy nominations including the one for the Best Album, and he was surely expected to win more than one award at least several months later, but he was also going through a difficult time in his private life. His writer girlfriend Suleika Jaouad happened to suffer another bout of leukemia, and, ironically, her chemotherapy was started on the very day when he received those Grammy nominations.

At least, both Jaouad and Batiste tried to be optimistic about what would happen next in their life. Because of her previous experience with leukemia, Jaouad was well aware of how risky her following therapy period could be, and Batiste was ready to stand by her as usual. While she became more fragile due to her chemotherapy, he was usually around her for cheering and supporting her more, and they eventually married some time later as reminded of how short her life could be at any point.

Meanwhile, Batiste had to deal with many things in his advancing career. After winning an Oscar for Pixar animation film “Soul” (2020), he became a lot more prominent than before, and he was about to reach to another highlight via his new ambitious project. He was composing a work titled “American Symphony”, and the documentary pays some attention to how he prepared for its upcoming premiere performance at Carnegie Hall in September 2022. We see him collaborating with a bunch of various musicians for imbuing his work with many different cultural elements, and the mood is pretty joyous as they try one thing after another during their creative process.

Not so surprisingly, Batiste cannot help but feel pressured and concerned as facing one of the most important points in his career. He does not seem to care that much about some criticism against him while going his way as before, but several quiet private moments of his suggest some anxiety and insecurity inside him, though he does not reveal a lot in front of the camera. When he talks with his therapist on the phone, he is mostly frank and articulate, but he still seems to keep a lot of things to himself, and we can only guess whatever is churning behind his carefree attitude.

At least, Batiste understandably looks more opened whenever he is with Jaouad, and their several intimate moments come to function as the main emotional center of the documentary. While it does not show that much of their difficult time with Jaouad’s illness, the documentary instead focuses on how they handled their situation in each own artistic way, and there is a little poignant moment as Jaouad tries to express her feelings and thoughts more via drawing several sketches. We also see Batiste giving a brief but striking performance dedicated to Jaouad at a concert hall, and that is certainly another moving moment to remember.

In April 2022, things got a bit better for Batiste and Jaouad. The treatment for Jaouad’s leukemia was finally over, and she was later taken back to their residence. Because she was still too weak to go along with Batiste to the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony, she watched it on TV instead, and she was certainly excited when he eventually won the Top Album award around the end of the ceremony after already winning four other awards.

However, they were reminded again of how short her life can be. At one point later in the documentary, Jaouad’s doctor explains to her and Batiste about how they should be cautiously optimistic about her recovery, and that makes them more determined to live as fully as possible in addition to devoting themselves more to their respective artistic activities. Art has been always important for both of them, and you can clearly see how much they have been close to each other through not only love but also artistic passion.

As expected, the narrative of the documentary culminates to the premier performance of “American Symphony” at Carnegie Hall. Although I wish the documentary showed more of this excellent performance, it did a fairly good job of presenting this emotionally climactic part, and you will admire Batiste’s talent more after observing how he deftly handles one supposedly accident moment in the middle of the performance.

Overall, “American Symphony”, which is directed by Matthew Heineman, thankfully avoids becoming one of those run-of-the-mill celebrity documentaries as emphasizing the humanity and personality of its human subjects. To be frank with you, I am not that familiar with Batiste’s career, but, as far as I could see from the documentary, he seems to have all the right stuffs for advancing further in his life and career, and I can only wish well to him as well as his spouse.