Cutie and the Boxer

Cutie and the Boxer, directed by Zachary Heinzerling, is a documentary about Japanese born artist Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko's 40 year marriage, tracing Noriko's own emergence as an artist after decades in her husband's shadow. The film premiered at Sundance on January 19, 2013, where Heinzerling won the Directing Award for US Documentary. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards but lost to 20 Feet from Stardom. The film was very well received critically, holding a 95 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and 83 on Metacritic. Who it's for: anyone curious about an Oscar nominated documentary tracing an artist wife's emergence from her husband's shadow after four decades of marriage. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a portrait focused on a single artist, since the film gives equal weight to the couple's relationship.