Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant has fast become a modern classic, receiving the Academy Award for both Best Director and Best Actor upon its release in 2016. When Sakamoto was approached about composing the film’s score, he was still recovering from the oropharyngeal cancer first diagnosed in 2014. Despite these health struggles, Sakamoto seized the opportunity to work with one of the most influential filmmakers of our generation. The resulting soundtrack shines as a glimmering jewel in the annals of film score history. The Revenant is set in the untamed wilderness of the 19th century American Northwest. In order to capture the crisp sound of the frigid frontier air, Sakamoto seemingly put the metrical structure of his composition on ice, separating each phrase by a cavernous gap that slows the music to the tempo of measured breaths. Chords played by the string orchestra hang thick in the air and then fade to a conspicuously empty silence, broken when the strings rise up once more from the void. This cycle does not repeat in rapid bursts, but rather, unfolds unmoored from meter, drawing out the sounds to express the vast scale of the wilderness and the rhythm of the planet itself. Remarkably, Sakamoto chose to achieve this unmetered sound with a real live orchestra, instead of simply synthesizing it with computers or electronic instruments. In order to communicate his vision to the orchestra, Sakamoto ended up handing out sheet music with a time signature that changed nearly each measure. This unusual notation successfully conveyed the intended concept of “ma”—an interval or emptiness in space. Of course, not every sound that appears on the soundtrack is acoustic. Sakamoto artfully embedded electronic sounds into the score, even dusting off the cello and electric guitar himself for the occasion. In weakened health, Sakamoto enlisted the assistance of Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner toward the end of the production. This collaboration rendered the finished score ineligible for a Best Score Oscar. Nonetheless, Sakamoto succeeded in blending operatic leitmotifs with synth-driven sound effects to create a uniquely atmospheric soundtrack that will surely withstand the weathering test of time.