Cutie and the Boxer is a documentary film about the story of two talented, different minded Japanese artists, Ushio and Noriko and their relationship. They had just met when she moved to New York City at a young age to try and become a successful artist. She only had the money her parents sent her to survive. Ushio was a bit older than her and was already quite popular but was an alcoholic for a while and was broke. Her son became dependent on her financially, and not too long after her parents cut her off completely after finding out what was happening in New York and did not approve of it. They thought Ushio was a bad influence. About six months after meeting each other, Noriko unexpectedly gets pregnant while Ushio was still denying that he is an alcoholic.
The film portrays their lives to be sad and depressing, through sad music and images of their poor lifestyle as well as through Noriko’s stories and storytelling paintings which shows Ushio to be a selfish drunk. In one part of the movie, Noriko is explaining how when she had a baby, she had to put her dream aside and her love for art faded because she had to raise her son and take care of her husband. The movie shows images and clips of Noriko throughout their relationship, and it was very rare to find a picture where they looked like they were living the life they always wanted to, a happy successful life. This film shows that someone’s work could be popular but that does not mean the individual themselves are famous. Some artists’ paintings do not become famous until after they passed away. Most of Ushio’s paintings did not sell because buyers would look at it and say, “that’s nice but not my taste.” His art was usually created in action, which is why he has the nickname Boxer. He had very unique ways of creating sculptures and paintings. A few of his paintings were made with boxing gloves and foam tied onto it and he would create one in less than three minutes. For example, the movie showed the one called “Poppy fields” which was one of his more popular ones. I found it to be very different and impressive that a painting could be created with just two objects. Although Noriko does not usually express her emotions through her comic paintings but with captions on them until later on in the movie after Ushio goes to Japan to try and sell art for money. Since his work is made very differently, when a buyer comes to look at some of his work, she explains that she wants to buy this art but she is looking for more historical content. Therefore, Norkio insists on showing her the painting he had done at a university, which sold the buyer immediately because it held historical symbolism since it was one of his very first paintings that draws a lot of attention to it.
This movie shows what it is like behind the scenes of an artist’s life, behind all the fame and glory. Ushio was a famous artist in the media when they first met. But he was not successful whatsoever. He was an angry drunk that did not help Norkio, she had to support him and raise her son. His style is intense and seen as interesting in the United States but is not something that seems to be frequently purchased. His works have seemed to be more popular among the Japanese. An exhibition of his art was shown in the film featuring a large, cardboard motorcycle that Noriko complains of as not looking like a motorcycle until after it is painted. The scenes that show them preparing for his exhibition reveal that Noriko has put her artwork to the side over the years as she spent her time as Ushio’s unpaid assistant, cook, and maid. When she does have free time she paints, which soon became a whole storytelling wall of her and Ushio’s life together which was called “cutie.” She expressed her frustrations and regrets through her artwork. It has been revealed just how difficult the couple’s whole marriage has been due to Ushio’s, illustrated as her character Bullie’s, drinking problem. It shows in her illustrations of a drunken Bullie and a depressed and stressed Cutie, giving a true look at her inspiration for her works. Noriko was forced to raise their only son Alex in a cramped apartment surrounded by stumbling drunks almost every night with little to no help from Ushio, as he frequently drank as well. This has caused their son to grow up with the same traits as Ushio, now also an artist as well as a heavy drinker. Ushio eventually did quit drinking for health reasons, which Noriko claimed to have helped their relationship. Norkio has made it more than known that she regrets catering to her husband and losing her passion for art for a while. She had sometimes wished she married someone who wasn’t a drunk and had a steady paycheck coming in.
In my opinion, I think this movie describes our society’s stereotype of relationships quite well. The women are usually the ones that choose to push their dreams aside for their family. They do not have to but they chose to because they want what is best for their loved ones. While the men are working for the family to bring home income and food on the table. I do disagree with how they displayed her life to be, such as when she used to think about how her life would be if she did not marry Ushio but then felt bad for thinking that way. If she did not take a few years off from painting they would of not be struggling for money because there would have been two incomes coming in if she sold hers too. The movie portrayed their relationship to be very bland and boring, she stayed home and did the house chores as well as take care of their child, while he always was a drunk with his friends over. The movie was more of a documentary on their life rather than his paintings and sculptures. They did show a few of his favorite ones of his before the showing of his art. Also, when one of the buyers were coming to find a historical content painting.
