At the age of eighty, artist Ushio Shinohara cuts a diminutive figure. In the first scene of Zachary Heinzerling’s documentary, we see this small and seemingly frail man being awoken on the morning of his birthday, looking every bit of his age. In the very next sequence, these initial impressions are blown apart as we see the elderly artist stripped to the waist, using paint soaked boxing gloves to pummel his latest work onto a huge canvas. It’s a startling beginning to a beautiful and continually surprising film.
We meet Shinohara as he prepares for his latest show. A one time New York hit and contemporary of Andy Warhol, Shinohara has always found acclaim within art circles but has never attained financial success from his work. The success of this show, as he moves into old age, feels particularly crucial. Soon though, we come to realise that the focus of the documentary is not Shinohara at all but his wife of forty years, Noriko. An artist in her own right, Noriko first came to New York as a young student and soon fell under the spell of the charismatic older man who believed that, “The average one must support the genius.” Noriko’s life became one of sacrifice as her own career fell by the wayside.
Though the couple are clearly devoted to each other, theirs is a complex love story, beautifully told by Heinzerling. The director spent five years filming with the couple before narrowing his focus and the resulting intimacy is apparent on screen. Both Ushio and Noriko have become so used to Heinzerling’s presence in their house that they have reached a state of complete ease. Only their son maintains an intriguingly childlike bashfulness in the presence of the camera.
This intimate, fly on the wall style is counter-balanced by some wonderful flights of fancy. As the story begins to focus on Noriko, her autobiographical drawings are brought to animated life, telling the story of the couple as they struggle with poverty, alcoholism, rivalry and thwarted ambition. It’s an interesting tactic that works extremely well, giving us a chance to peak into Noriko’s imagination.
Cutie and the Boxer is a beautifully observed piece of filmmaking. Its mix of realism and artistic flourishes perfectly complements the subject matter of two artistic souls struggling with the realities of life and love.