Cutie and the Boxer

There's something perturbing about the relationship between Brooklyn-based artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. Ushio was already a renowned member of the Japanese avant-garde when he decamped to the United States in 1969. But, while he was fêted by the likes of Andy Warhol, he never made much money and hit the bottle while continuing to produce distinctive sculptures and paintings created by punching the canvas with sponge-capped boxing gloves. Noriko is 21 years his junior and produces semi-autobiographical drawings, in which her Cutie character tries to cope with her pugnacious partner, Bullie. Somehow, the pair have stayed together and director Zachary Heinzerling follows them and artist son Alex over a five-year period, as they prepare for separate exhibitions and egotistical 80-something Ushio struggles to curb his resentment at the overdue attention his wife's work is finally receiving. Alternating between intimacy and intrusion, this is a revealing, affectionate and occasionally charming insight into a creative partnership. But the overwhelming emotion it evokes is sadness.