'CUTIE AND THE BOXER': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Another of this year's Oscar contenders for Best Documentary Feature is this film about two struggling Japanese artists in New York City who have been married for over 40 years. It stars Neo-Dadaist artist Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko Shinohara. The movie is a beautiful depiction of love, marriage, art and following one's dreams. It was directed and written by Zachary Heinzerling and it's his feature film debut.
The documentary tells the story of how Noriko Shinohara came to New York City (in 1969) when she was 19. She met Ushio Shinohara when he was 41 and fell in love with him. Ushio (nicknamed "Gyu-chan") was famous and well liked in the experimental New York art scene but his work almost never sold and he was very poor because of it. Noriko was also an artist (and a student) but she put her dreams aside while she married Ushio and the two had a son (named Alex) together. Ushio was also an alcoholic; this combined with the couple's lack of money made their marriage very hard for 40 long years.
The movie uses new artwork by Noriko to tell a lot of her story (drawings she's recently done in animated form). I found this part of the film to be very interesting and beautiful. The story of these two, their love for each other, hard marriage and passion for art are all things that make a documentary like this really meaningful (and I can especially relate to the struggling artist story). It's beautifully directed and Ushio and Noriko are always fascinating to watch. I found their scenes together to be very sweet and relatable and there is some very powerful drama caught on screen as well. The film deserves it's Oscar nomination in every way!
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR3e7zdl6R4
Another of this year's Oscar contenders for Best Documentary Feature is this film about two struggling Japanese artists in New York City who have been married for over 40 years. It stars Neo-Dadaist artist Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko Shinohara. The movie is a beautiful depiction of love, marriage, art and following one's dreams. It was directed and written by Zachary Heinzerling and it's his feature film debut.
The documentary tells the story of how Noriko Shinohara came to New York City (in 1969) when she was 19. She met Ushio Shinohara when he was 41 and fell in love with him. Ushio (nicknamed "Gyu-chan") was famous and well liked in the experimental New York art scene but his work almost never sold and he was very poor because of it. Noriko was also an artist (and a student) but she put her dreams aside while she married Ushio and the two had a son (named Alex) together. Ushio was also an alcoholic; this combined with the couple's lack of money made their marriage very hard for 40 long years.
The movie uses new artwork by Noriko to tell a lot of her story (drawings she's recently done in animated form). I found this part of the film to be very interesting and beautiful. The story of these two, their love for each other, hard marriage and passion for art are all things that make a documentary like this really meaningful (and I can especially relate to the struggling artist story). It's beautifully directed and Ushio and Noriko are always fascinating to watch. I found their scenes together to be very sweet and relatable and there is some very powerful drama caught on screen as well. The film deserves it's Oscar nomination in every way!
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR3e7zdl6R4