CAIRO- 26 August, 2017: “Cutie and the Boxer” is a 2013 documentary film about the difficult 40-year marriage of Ushio Shinohara and Noriko, both Japanese-born artists living in New York.
Shinohara, who turned 80 during the film, seems to be very energetic and ambitious, as if he is much younger. Besides sculpting, he made his innovative contribution in contemporary art by painting on canvas with paint-soaked boxing gloves. However, he is very under-appreciated.The family has always had financial issues, and we see them at the beginning of the film having difficulties paying the rent and bills for the month.
Noriko, 20 years younger than Shinohara, is a loving wife and mother who left her own artistic ambitions in order to support her husband as an unpaid assistant and raise their son Alex, who is also artistically talented.
The film also focuses on Noriko as she starts to get back to her dream in art by starting a semi-autobiographical project that tells a lot about her personal life. She created a fictional character called Cutie who comes to New York and falls in love with an older broke alcoholic artist she named Bullie.
Produced, filmed and directed by Zachary Heinzerling, it was nominated for “Best Documentary Feature” at the 2014 Oscars and won a number of awards, including the “Best Director Award” at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013.
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