Everett Collection
It’s the middle of the week, and your brain has all but lost its functional juices. You need an intellectual jump — a compelling lesson in history, science, or art, but without entailing that troublesome task of reading. What you need is a documentary. This week, our Netflix Hand-Picked Flix recommendation for Docu-Wednesdays is Cutie and the Boxer.
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, Cutie and the Boxer is a personal look at art and marriage, and how the two are often at odds with one another. We meet octogenarian experimental painter Ushio Shinohara, who has devoted his life to his work at the expense of financial stability and, more focally, his wife Noriko’s passions. An artist as well, the much younger Noriko has sacrificed her own drive in an effort to play the supportive figure to Ushio, although we get a glimpse into her imagination via Cutie and the Boxer.
Intercut with animated segments created by Noriko, the film is as emotional as it is cerebrally inspiring, cutting to the core of the struggles entailed by devotion to one’s art and devotion to another human being.
You can watch the movie on Netflix, and check back tomorrow for our Throwback Thursday recommendation.
