Positive comments mentioned the movie 's uplifting nature , with Paula Mejia of '' Newsweek '' writing that it " forces us to grapple with difficult questions of purpose , the inevitable role of pain in art , and how music acts as a force for salvation , as much for the fans as for the musicians who thrash these songs into existence " . Andy Webster of '' The New York Times '' wrote that '' We Are X '' was , " fascinating and assured documentary " , but also mentioned what he thought was an unfair R-rating saying : " '' We Are X '' is rated R ( Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) for — what ? Shredding ? " Criticism centered on the documentary 's focus on Yoshiki rather than on the band as a whole . John DeFore of '' The Hollywood Reporter '' said that while the film does cover the deaths of two X Japan members and the " brainwashing " of Toshi , it spends more time following the drummer at press and preparations for Madison Square Garden . Josiah Hughes of '' Exclaim ! '' made similar comments and noted typos in the English subtitles . Hughes gave the film an 8 out of 10 and observed that these were small complaints against an otherwise " outstanding rock documentary . " The movie was given ratings of 3 stars out of 5 by reviews in '' The Guardian '' , the '' New York Daily News '' and '' Time Out London '' with views range from the film being : " A watchable and interesting – if a tad worshipful " , " an accessible ride , if not a particularly unique one " , and that , " Kijak ’s willingness to indulge the band ’s rampant self-mythologising can get tiresome " . '' The Village Voice '' was more critical saying it was , " a maddeningly vague primer . ... All director Stephen Kijak 's frustrated attempts at getting into Yoshiki 's head leave little time for viewers to hear much of what X Japan 's music actually sounds like . " '' We Are X '' , which was entered in Sundance 's World Cinema Documentary Competition , won the Special Jury Award for Best Editing . It also won the Audience Award for Excellence in Title Design at South by Southwest . '' We Are X '' was nominated for the Golden Goblet award for Best Documentary at the 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival . It was also nominated for the inaugural Best Music Documentary award at the 22nd Critics ' Choice Awards . On December 13 , 2016 , it was announced that the film 's ending theme song " La Venus " was one of 91 songs in contention for nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 89th Academy Awards . The January 2018 issue of '' Neo '' named '' We Are X '' the " Best Asian Movie " in their annual awards . In March 2018 , the film won the " Best Music Film " award at the Space Shower Music Awards in Japan
89th Academy Awards
89th Academy Awards
We Are X