Cutie and the Boxer Dvd

Cutie and the Boxer is a 2013 American documentary film produced, shot, and directed by Zachary Heinzerling. The film focuses on the chaotic 40-year marriage of two artists, the boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko and features original artwork by the couple. Heinzerling said of the couple: “When I first met [the Shinoharas], I was just struck by the raw spirit and beauty that emanates from their faces, their lifestyle, their art, everything about them has so much purpose and character. Even if you don’t speak Japanese, even if you have no previous knowledge of their artwork or who they are, you’re immediately captivated by their presence. They live in a world that’s kind of a time warp that hearkens back to the ‘70s New York SoHo art scene that is sort of canonized in history, certainly from my point of view.”

Synopsis

The film is about the difficult 40-year relationship between Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, a Japanese-born husband and wife who are both artists who live in Brooklyn, New York. Ushio Shinohara is a small player in the contemporary art world, known for painting with a pair of paint-soaked boxing gloves and his oversized motorcycle sculptures made of cardboard. Their family has struggled financially for many years. Noriko, who is more than 20 years younger than Ushio, set aside her own art career to raise their son Alex and serve as Ushio’s unpaid assistant, receptionist and chef. Noriko has also worked on her own art, a character she created named Cutie. Cutie’s story is told in a comic-book narrative, where she comes to New York and falls for a broke older artist named Bullie. By the end of the movie, Ushio has begun to recognize that he’s not the only artist in the family and they hold a joint art opening at a SoHo gallery.