25 best critically acclaimed movies on Netflix

Photo Credit: The Kindergarten Teacher, Acquired From Netflix Media Center
Photo Credit: The Kindergarten Teacher, Acquired From Netflix Media Center
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LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 09: A general view of atmosphere at the premiere of “Cutie and the Boxer” during NEXT WEEKEND, presented by Sundance Institute at Sundance Sunset Cinema on August 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 09: A general view of atmosphere at the premiere of “Cutie and the Boxer” during NEXT WEEKEND, presented by Sundance Institute at Sundance Sunset Cinema on August 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)

8. Cutie and the Boxer (2013)

Director: Zachary Heinzerling

Cutie and the Boxer is the story of a marriage between two Japanese artists living in New York City. Being in love with a creative artist can be a challenging task, and this Academy Award-nominated doc explores all the layers of that conflict.

Ushio and Noriko Shinohara have been married 40 years. Ushio has earned worldwide notoriety for his grand sculptures and paintings, including his well know live art pieces where he puts on a pair of boxing gloves, drops them in the paint, and strikes an open canvas.

No thought goes into the action, just feeling and emotion. Trust me, this film will definitely have you in your feelings. Ushio’s wife, Noriko, is also an artist herself. But her personal endeavors took a backseat to her husband who was considered a genius. Another roadblock in Noriko’s pursuit of art was when she became pregnant with their son. After years of sacrificing her own life for her son and husband, Noriko starts a comic strip based on her marriage to Ushio who she names “Bullie” in the strip. She gives herself the name “Cutie” and thus her artistic vision finally starts to come to life.

Though Ushio is well-known, his pieces rarely sell. This has made life hard for the couple. Noriko even verbalizes her regret that she didn’t marry a man who made a stable living for the sake of her son, while we see archive footage of Noriko in tears professing that he’s sacrificed everything in his life for the sake of his art.

We see the tension in their relationship on the surface, but from my vantage point, Cutie and the Boxer compliment each other, they understand each other, and most importantly they love each other.

Want to be in a relationship with an artist? Watch this doc immediately.