Cutie and the Boxer | キューティー＆ボクサー

Director: Zachary Heinzerling

Writer: Zachary Heinzerling

Stars: Ushio Shinohara, Noriko Shinohara, Alex Shinohara
2013/USA

★★★★★

This fascinating documentary film about a Japanese contemporary artist Ushio Shinohara (Gyu-chan) in New York and his wife Noriko who is also an artist, and their marriage life for over 40 years was broadcasted on BBC4 about 10 days ago. It may be one of the most romantic film I've seen recently. The film was so powerful that it still sticks in my head.

When Noriko was 19, she went to New York, met Gyu-chan who was much older than her, and fell in love with him. They got married and had a son. But Gyu-chan's first and only priority was art. He couldn't sell his works and drank a lot. She had no choice but played roles as a wife, a mother, and an assistant. It was difficult for her to find the time for her own art. Gradually, she found a way to express herself by drawing their marriage life through the characters Cutie and Bully that reflect her and her husband.

Oh dear, Gyu-chan is a typical Peter Pan! Yes he's an interesting artist, but as a partner to make living together...??? I'm surprised that their marriage has survived so long.  Perhaps it's because there is a strong bond between them as artists..

My favourite scene is where Gyu-chan went off to Japan even though they didn't have enough money. Noriko saw him off with a lot of complaints, but when he got back, she dashed to the front door. She loves him so much, doesn't she!

In this film, the story was told from Noriko's viewpoint. I'm also interested to hear the story from Gyu-chan's point of view.


10日ほど前に、ニューヨークに暮らす日本人現代芸術家、篠原有司男氏（通称ギュウチャン）とその妻で自身も芸術家である乃り子さんの40年間にわたる結婚生活をめぐるドキュメンタリー映画をBBC4で観ました。
最近観た映画の中で一番ロマンチックだったかも。
なんだかガツンときて、未だに気が付くとこの映画のことを考えてます。

19歳でニューヨークに渡った乃り子さんは、親子ほども年の違うギュウチャンと出会って恋に落ちます。やがて2人は結婚して息子が誕生。
が、ギュウチャンの頭の中は芸術のことばかり。しかも、作品は売れず、飲んだくれの日々。。
乃り子さんは妻、母、そしてアシスタントという役割をこなしながら、自身の製作の喜びからは遠ざかった生活を余儀なくされます。
やがて 乃り子さんは、自分たちを投影したキューティとブリーというキャラクターをとおして結婚生活をドローイングで描く、という自身のアートを見つけます。

もうねー、このギュウチャンが、典型的なピーターパンなわけですよ。
芸術家しては尊敬できるけど、一緒に暮らすパートナーとしてはどうなんだ、と。
でもねー、2人の結婚生活を支えたのは芸術家同士の強い絆だったのかなー。

一番好きだったのは、お金もないのに日本に行っちゃったギュウチャンをぶーぶー言いながら送り出した乃り子さんが、帰ってきた彼を玄関まで走って迎えに行くシーン。
大好きなんですねー、ギュウチャンのことが！

この映画の視点は乃り子さんだったんだけど、ギュウチャンから見た結婚生活の話も聞いてみたい。