Cutie and the Boxer: Documentary following a married couple, artists who immigrated from Japan to New York, and are now in their senior years. Yushio Shinohara was a rising star in the avante garde art movement in Japan, and enjoyed some serious popularity in the '60s and '70s. Now, no-one really seems to know him except pop art scholars and, at 80 years old, he's living hand-to-mouth with his wife, Noriko who is 60. Here's a brief summary of the theme:
Through animated sequences of Noriko’s art, Heinzerling gives viewers the Shinoharas’ painful backstory. Noriko arrived in New York at age 19 to study art, but that dream was squashed after she met Ushio, 21 years her senior, and soon became pregnant with Alex. “Cutie and Bullie” is Noriko’s catharsis, as 40 years of Ushio’s alcohol abuse and their constant struggles to keep above the poverty line spill forth onto her canvas.(url)
It is a beautifully shot documentary, very honest, rich camera-work, and well-edited. Some of the lingering shots, they convey stress or concern, or hurt feelings so well. I found myself cheering for the wife, who had put her artistic pursuits on hold, but ultimately finds her own artistic voice.
It's good.
