Cutie and the Boxer
Dir: Zachary Heinzerling
2013
***
Cutie and the Boxer is quite a unique 'portrait of an artist' documentary in that it is a portrait of two artists, both married to one another. It's quite a personal insight to a small closed off family, Ushio Shinohara often coming off as the villein (which he is in many ways) and Noriko Shinohara coming off as a the naive victim (who is now fighting back), which is hard to comprehend or find sympathy for after 40 years of life together. I do wonder if they realised how their only son would come off after the film was released, seeing as they pretty much show him as a ghostly alcoholic whose alcoholism is acknowledged by themselves as their fault but shrugged off as just 'one of those things'. I like the art and can see its appeal, the film highlights the fleeting success an artist can experience in their lifetime and the repercussions it can have on their lives, although this is very much about the Shinohara's rather than artists in general. You can take it all with a pinch of salt too, seeing as the conclusion is a financially successful New York gallery show. We all have tough months, I'm not sure why we would think artists, celebrities or those who were once more successful than they are now would be immune but this is an entertaining enough example of just that. Don't expect an art lesson though.