#CutieBoxer kateparvenski

[mediadesignspring2018]

Cutie and the Boxer very beautifully depicts the weight and consequence of artistic passion on a relationship and family over time. Through sit down interviews, old photos, and b-roll, the story unfolds cleverly through Noriko’s illustrations. Her drawings serve as a narrator of sorts, and eventually evolve into animation. While Ushio is seemingly the star of this duo, I love that the focus is really on Noriko as she eventually steers the narrative at the close of the film. In the drawings, Cutie is a character, just like Noriko is a character in the film - each playing their own specific role, as wife, mother, artist. In telling her story through art and then through the film, we ultimately see Noriko transform - on the page, on film, and in life, just like her drawings.

In terms of storytelling, there’s great attention to detail and intimacy in each moment. The camera follows each character closely, often zooming in on each artist’s face as well as their work. From the opening scene throughout the film, there’s also a painterly sense of the footage in the framing of the shots and the bold colors the camera captures. The film is of course about art but it also presents a certain kind of visual/graphic sensibility that so aptly matches the subject matter. We feel the passion and care Ushio and Noriko both have for their work in the filmmaker’s attention to every moment, detail, and color.

The film invites us to explore Ushio and Noriko’s histories as well as the tension and love that has grown between them over the years. The result is a powerful memoir in motion - a loving portrait of the give and take of any relationship, and the sacrifices one must make for art, love, family, and career.