Meet the Sundance-Supported Oscar Noms: Cutie and the Boxer

Nate von Zumwalt

“You throw yourself away to be an artist,” says Ushio Shinohara in Cutie and the Boxer, the forceful documentary that follows the famous Japanese artist and his wife Noriko Shinohara over their 40-year relationship. The verity of that statement is reinforced throughout Zachary Heinzerling’s directorial debut, as Ushio risks abandonment, financial hardship, and other pitfalls in order to dedicate his life to his art—he specializes in an unconventional action painting technique called “boxing painting.”

Cutie observes the line between personal and professional relationships while presenting a charming—if not occasionally heartbreaking—portrait of complex lovers on an intricate life journey. But where Heinzerling’s dynamic filmmaking truly prospers is in its comprehensive storytelling. Cutie never panders to sentimentality and it refuses to operate with a selective memory, often depicting unflattering battles between the couple. Most notable is Noriko’s longstanding rancor toward Ushio’s artistry—or more appropriately, the disregard for her own work—and the latter’s bouts with alcoholism and financial insecurity.

  • Cutie and the Boxer is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards.
  • Won Best Directing at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition.
  • Heinzerling does not speak Japanase and used a translator to conduct the interviews. “I think a lot of moments were more honest because they didn’t think we were studying their every word,” he has said.
  • Screened at the first-ever NEXT WEEKEND film festival in August 2013.

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From the Archives: Revisit Robert Redford’s Words of Wisdom

To much of the world Robert Redford is Roy Hobbs, Bill McKay, Jeremiah Johnson, or invariably, The Sundance Kid. He is an artist, an activist, and a creative leader. But Robert Redford also inhabits another world, one where he’s known simply as “Bob.

From the Archives: Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford on Why He’s Always Believed in the Power of Documentary Filmmaking

The Sundance Film Festival’s longstanding commitment to documentary has been driven by the personal connection founder and president Robert Redford feels for the form. Leading up to the premiere of Chicago 10, the second doc to ever open the Festival, we talked to Redford about the past, present, and possible future of documentaries.You made an early commitment to documentary.

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