Gyu-chan...
- It's your birthday.
- Huh?
Damn... I'm finally 80 years old.
- You wearing those?
- No, these are for you!
Oh. What a surprising birthday present.
Look at these ducks.
Quack, quack.
Where are the candles?
We don't have 80 candles.
- We only have a "three."
- Three is fine.
You have to blow it out.
You have cake all over your face.
I really don't care!
I don't listen to you.
That's how I... keep young.
It's nothing to do with you turning 80.
You've never listened.
So isn't it about time you listened?
? Food, sex, sleep ?
? Money, health, flow ?
? Speed, love, nurse ?
? Peace, hair, clothes ?
? Dreams, space, fate ?
? Trouble, home, flower ?
? Push, murder, breeze ?
? Water, curves, tan ?
? Alone, mirror, truth ?
? Mother, risk, fall ?
? Shock, color, caress ?
? Hands ?
? Good ?
? Nasty, heat, please ?
? Wit, whims, sperm ?
? Just, you, fool ?
? Empty, laughs, skin ?
? Different, smell, third eye ?
? Hunt, time, fight ?
? Sacrifice ?
? Nicotine, youth ?
? Sane, lies, blue ?
? Info, clear, noise ?
? Reason, teasing ?
? Honesty, hard, soft ?
? Beauty, danger ?
? Curves, tan ?
? Alone, mirror, truth ?
? Mother, risk, fall ?
? Shock ?
? Pain, body, fame ?
? Hear me, free me ?
? Eat me, kill me ?
? Give me, form me ?
? Game me ?
? Heaven, cold ?
? Jealous, release ?
? Subtle, nature ?
? Shelter, energy ?
? Flavor, control ?
? Dirt, street ?
? Scream, ideas ?
? True, hell ?
Here you go. Let's go.
Here, let's go.
We've got water dripping
into our bedroom from the third floor.
I'll bring it up to here.
Just a minute.
All right.
It's like Niagara Falls.
OK. Let's go.
You know we haven't paid this month's
rent? Landlord sent us a bill.
And we need to pay utilities
or they will shut them off.
How much do we need?
Too scary to think about...
$1,000.
The rent plus $1,000.
That would be enough for a while.
OK. We're here. Let's go.
Open sesame.
Boom.
OK, go ahead.
- You don't have to hold it.
- No, no, we have to do it together.
Remove the one underneath.
Pull more. A little more.
I'm putting everything
into my next show.
Maybe I can sell. I have to sell.
This cardboard motorcycle is my pride.
My pride and a chance...
to show everyone.
With this show, my reputation
is going to go like:
Bam!
- The headlight is too big.
- The headlight?
- Maybe we should redo it.
- Too big? It's too late.
You can't tell what it is.
I guess after painting,
it will look more like something.
Yeah.
I'm not his assistant.
It's better I make mine... my work.
But sometimes I help
because it's an emergency.
Because I'm husband!
You are so pitiful.
Be careful.
Don't get mugged on the way home.
I'm sure you can tell Noriko
doesn't really want to help.
She is just an assistant.
The average one
has to support the genius.
That's what I think.
It's done.
Big Blue's defense
step it up again.
Look at that big sack
by Justin Tuck
on the Giants' 7-yard line.
Gyu-chan! Dinner is ready.
This red snapper is delicious.
But it's so cheap.
My cooking is expensive.
Yeah.
This would cost ten times more
in a restaurant.
It's like you get to eat
in an expensive restaurant every day.
What's the problem?
I've spent a lot
of time on this meal
and the way you
gobble it up is so gross.
That's why I hate eating together.
I made it all pretty
but you quickly make a big mess.
This soup is excellent.
Do you know the correct way
to eat a cherry tomato?
Tomato?
Look what happens
when you do it the wrong way.
OK, didn't come out this time.
What the hell are you doing?
You should just
throw it up and catch it.
- You should try.
- I can't.
OK, I'll give it a go.
Go ahead.
There's no way you can do it.
I almost had it.
I'm hopeless.
I give up.
You did it.
Remember in Spielberg's movie?
I think it was Raiders of the
Lost Ark...
I don't remember.
There's a scene where they poison food
like this and someone's about to eat it.
But right then, this monkey grabs it
and eats it and it dies.
But the Spielberg film
we saw the other day was horrible.
You mean the last Indiana Jones?
Yeah. It sucked.
Are you sure it was Spielberg?
Yeah, he's done. He's too old.
I love Jaws.
Jaws was the best.
You always say
the first work is the best.
Yeah. Young Spielberg.
But you could say the same for artists,
their first work is always the best.
Yeah, I guess.
It's the later work
where things get tough.
So if that's the case,
there is no hope.
Why continue?
Does it fit?
Yeah, it does. It does.
No, it won't fit.
- What's wrong?
- It's bent there.
OK, there it goes.
I got it. Nut, nut, nut.
Gyu-chan, hold the other side.
I need a nut!
Right, right, right.
Little more, little more.
This show in New York
which we call
"Shinohara:
Wham! Pow! Vroom!"
is the idea of action
and also "Vroom!"
for his motorcycle,
because Shinohara has been
making sculpture, you know,
since the beginning
of his artistic career.
He's been famous
for, you know, years.
But now is maybe
one of his key moments.
In the 1960s,
a Japanese painter
came to New York
seeking to create art
that would reflect the city's
prosperity and chaos.
This artist is Ushio Shinohara.
Early morning in SoHo:
cardboard has been discarded
in the streets,
and by walking a couple
of blocks from his loft,
Shinohara can collect all
he needs for his day's work.
At the moment, he is preparing
a new sculpture
using great amounts
of cardboard
while his wife, Noriko,
works on her own paintings.
As a young man in Tokyo,
he emerged as a leader
in Japan's
avant-garde art movement
with his imitation
of American pop art
and action painting.
The quality
of Ushio Shinohara's art
is, to say the least,
in some doubt,
but it does illustrate
the rather frenetic spirit
of rebellion
among some young people--
and not only in Japan,
throughout the world.
When he arrived
in the United States,
he was at once in the limelight
of the mass media.
It is said Shinohara
is the most famous
of the poor and struggling
artists in New York.
While his works
are exhibited across Japan,
American collectors often say,
"That's a wonderful image
but not my taste,"
so most of Shinohara's pieces
have never sold.
What do you think of my opening?
It hasn't even started yet.
I'm nervous.
- Like, "Will they sell?"
- You don't sell at an opening.
You never know.
I'm tired.
- Why
- Huh?
- I'm tired from preparing for today.
- I'm not tired at all.
Of course, this is your event.
It's not my show,
so I just get frustrated.
Come on, give me a break.
Really, what's most important
is that moment when he created
the painting.
This is a result,
but--and a beautiful result--
but also it's the action,
so that's where--
the energy is in there.
- You've met Ushio.
- Nice to meet you again.
Pleasure seeing you.
This is wonderful.
And he also made this
extraordinary new sculpture.
This is my main work.
- It gets very good mileage.
- Yeah, I'm sure.
I've been doing this for such a long
time. I usually start off with an image.
Oh, I see.
So this is eventually what
I came up with.
So you put some foam
on the top of it, right?
Yeah. I close my eyes and
hit right to left.
Just one minute. That's all.
- In one minute?
- No, no. Two and a half minutes.
Two and a half!
When I was young
I was obsessed by my ideals
and art was my first priority.
Art was Ushio's priority too.
When it came to that,
we completely agreed.
I'd never known anyone in my life
who was so open-hearted.
I began to love him.
I was so filled with inspiration.
I was never worried about the future.
Hello?
Hi, Ethan.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
Ethan, what's up?
Listen, I have small, very, very
charming, two motorcycles for you.
Hold on, please. Noriko is coming...
Noriko!
It's Ethan.
Hold on, please.
She's coming soon.
Hi.
Good morning.
Fine, thank you.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, bye.
Gyu-chan...
Alexandra from the Guggenheim Museum
wants to see a boxing painting.
She wants to come
to your studio tomorrow.
Let's pull these out.
I'm excited to show these to Alexandra.
She has always liked your work.
Let's look around for bigger ones.
OK.
Is there anything up there?
I see a few dirty rolls,
but I don't think we want those.
- We have so much stuff.
- This isn't a boxing painting, is it?
Look, this looks like the right size.
Noriko, let me take away
whatever's on top.
- I can slide it out.
- Can you?
- Be careful not to cut into the canvas.
- I know.
Oh!
Nice!
Look, there is nice blue.
- This is beautiful...
- This will definitely sell.
This should be good for tomorrow.
Thank you.
If it sells, I take the profit.
How are you?
Nice to see you.
Nice to see you.
Congratulations on your show.
So you've never seen me
do a boxing painting, right?
Only on film.
So today you can see it live.
Okay, and we'd also like
to talk also about
the one we're gonna buy
for the Guggenheim Museum,
which one it will be.
Also, there's a piece
that he created.
It's larger,
and in fact, this is the detail.
I'm interested in one that
has, like, a real historical...
No, no, no, no.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
And they're interested--
we're just trying to get--
You know, he needs support,
and he needs to be, you know--
and he's getting it now,
and so you're also very key,
you know,
which is really wonderful.
That's great.
Fantastic.
Can you believe?
Ushio cannot drink anymore.
That's how he regained his health.
- That's good.
- It's very strange.
All of a sudden, one day
three and a half years ago...
...he couldn't breathe.
And since then,
it's kind of allergy.
He cannot drink alcohol.
If a doctor finds such a thing,
all the alcoholics
can be saved in this world.
I've got a lot of these.
They're cheap.
- Can I get a picture with him?
- Okay.
Fantastic. Fantastic.
You're welcome.
Fantastic.
That is fabulous!
It looks like a poppy field.
Poppy field? Oh, yes!
Afghan poppy field.
Looks like
an Afghan poppy field.
OK, title is "Poppy Field".
Yeah,Poppy Field.
It's definitely a poppy field.
Yeah.
It's so important
he's not thinking.
He's doing.
It's so visceral.
It's so different from Pollock.
Pollock was actually
consciously...
It's very, very powerful.
You know, I want to work
to try and find funders
who can help us
acquire the work.
We want one that has
some historical resonance.
This one is historical.
Because this one,
he did it at Potsdam University,
at the opening.
But what other ones exist?
The Kamakura one
was photographed in the...
Art in America.
It showed in Art in America.
Okay, so that's the kind
of thing that they like.
That's the kind of thing
I need.
Can you show me a picture
of that?
- We have a copy of...
- We'll give it to you, yeah.
Yeah, yeah,
let's go take a look.
But it's only one event.
But this one was for a university,
and traveled several universities.
Noriko, I like this one.
I'd prefer this one.
Actually, that one is no good because
actually, it doesn't belong to us.
- Oh.
- Because his friend...
- Ushio gave him that one.
- Oh, okay.
And he promised us,
he won't sell it.
But there--
maybe we can work it out.
We have to be sure
that Ushio and Noriko benefit.
- Exactly. No, no, that's--
- Actually...
Ushio was kind of drunk,
so he promised it to him.
- But we can work this out.
- I mean, it's all-- we can negotiate this.
- But I thought, you know,
- the other one, is more easy.
- No, no, no, arigato, arigato.
No, I appreciate that.
No, I appreciate that.
Okay, so I need to do something.
It's gonna take some time.
I mean, I'm sorry.
You've already been
so patient with me.
It's just, you know,
we're just...
I'm doing a start-up.
Ready?
One. Two. Three.
Yahoo!
It was only six months after I met Ushio
when I got pregnant.
Our baby was born,
and Ushio was an alcoholic.
Ushio and I had many fights
caused by his drinking.
With no time to do my artwork,
I lost my joy of painting.
I should've married a guy
who made a secure living
and would take responsibility
for what he did.
Oh, hello, son. Welcome.
Noriko, I can't find
the sweet red bean jelly.
I don't know about it.
You put it on the chair, right?
Ah, it fell down here.
Found it!
Youkan!
Alex, do you want some Youkan?
Uh, I'm okay.
- Alex, you are already drunk.
- No, not at all.
You smell.
Yeah, you smell.
I can give you water.
Hey.
What are you looking for?
- Can I have a little bit?
- No, no, no.
You've had enough.
No, no, no...
That's too much.
Why can't you just drink water?
- Is that the expensive wine?
- It's not especially expensive but...
- It's $13.
- Oh, $13.
But I can't enjoy drinking together
because he guzzles it up like water.
- Like water.
- Like water.
He was getting better.
So I was giving him one glass a day.
He was doing better...
We have to take all the alcohol with us.
That's what we have to do.
Or else Alex will hunt them down.
This happened because you spoiled him.
I want you to take responsibility.
He will never refuse a drink if you
offer. So you never give one to him.
He'll say anything to get a drink.
I did the best I could
to raise my child.
Because he came from a poor family
with an alcoholic parent,
he had a strong inferiority complex.
When I see Alex to school,
he tells me to go home a
block before we reach the bus stop.
He is ashamed of you.
Alex doesn't want you coming along.
I felt guilty that I didn't give my son
a proper environment to grow up in
with drunk adults
hanging around him all the time.
Why don't you go dance alone?
Let me tell you something...
Did Alex go out, Noriko?
He got so drunk
that he's still sleeping.
Why is it always like this with you?
They invited me. I have to go.
Why would you even consider going to
Japan when we can't pay our rent?
Well, we need money from somewhere.
I'm going to take some work to sell.
Every time you go,
you come back and say it didn't sell.
You say, "Sorry, it didn't sell."
Someone there wants to buy
a sculpture for $3,000.
That's too cheap.
Well, it's something.
Oh, yeah. Here we go.
Pokemon motorcycle. It's a little dusty.
Look, Noriko.
You have to get at least $10,000
for this work.
No... don't do it. It won't fit!
It doesn't fit.
Obviously!
When Ushio is gone,
suddenly the air clears
and it gets very quiet.
Ushio had always been my teacher.
But I always felt inferior to him.
Ushio's voice was always in my head.
I was just following him.
According to Virginia Woolf,
female artists need a little money
and a room of their own
in order to succeed.
I feel for the first time that Cutie
is completely my own work.
Glad you are here.
I get to show a friend my new work.
We just had our 39th anniversary.
So you must have
a lot of stories to tell.
Of course.
This will be the last chapter.
This is just a rough idea
on a sketch book.
Cutie pulls Bullie's mouth and ears
and she pins him down.
Looking at angry Cutie
is interesting, but...
...I prefer her being happy.
But it won't be true
if it has a happy ending.
I hate Hollywood-style happy ending.
Of course, I understand that!
It's just nice to have
some happy moments.
Yes, sometimes.
After all...
Otherwise I can't emphasize
the roughness.
Yes, because of the roughness, I feel
"Cutie is so sweet!" in another moment.
She doesn't want
to be put into a mold.
No, she doesn't.
All of these together
would be great for a gallery.
- So you've made about 20 pieces?
- Yes, about that.
Hi, Alex! Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
OK, so 20 altogether?
Let's see. One, two, three...
This one I did...
This is kind of more earlier work.
I like this very much.
Even from afar I could see
something stronger here.
Something strong is here.
This is another one.
It's kind of self-portrait-like.
I like this a lot.
I like this one, too.
Very nice.
Ushio.
You got here so fast!
Wow, you brought this all the way!
Amazing.
Wait, don't rush.
You did a good job
carrying this by subway.
Sure! I saved $50.
- You should have called me from there.
- There's no phone.
- You should've called from a payphone.
- I didn't have a quarter.
Oh, you didn't have a quarter...
For you.
Oh, thank you.
How much? Count it.
There should be a lot.
There's not that much here...
It's $3,600!
I thought that's about it.
Isn't that great?
- Noriko, let's open this now.
- OK.
There's no reason to get naked.
Well, it's so hot here.
I found some of my old clothes in Japan.
This one...and this one...
Let me pay my respects.
I came back home safely.
Thank you so much.
Please take care of me next time again.
- Hey, why don't you count money?
- Not now...
Now!
- Now, Mom!
- Wait.
- I brought money back.
- You change as you brought money.
You have to smell the money.
Crisp bills!
Ooh, good smell.
These are $100 bills.
You do it like this way...
It's difficult.
Bankers are good at this.
Give it to me.
I've been doing this since I was child.
Oh, really? All right, you count it!
Smell it first.
We have $3,500? Good.
- See, I brought it back
- You did what you're supposed to do.
- Ah! Fish, fish, Noriko!
- Yeah?
- Big one!
- I'm shooting now.
Here we go!
No worries, I'm shooting.
- See!
- Amazing!
Move... come here.
Gently.
Now go over there.
Oh! That's good, good!
Turn around.
Oh... It's romantic.
Noriko, what are you doing?
Shuhei from the gallery
is coming over soon.
He seems to have only you
in mind for a show...
I want to remind him
there is another artist in this house.
Huh.
Gyu-chan, there's the telephone.
It's him.
Hi, Shuhei.
Where are you?
Yes, I'll come down to get you.
OK. I'm on my way.
Ready?
Come on in.
Wow, this is spectacular.
- Is this new?
- Brand new. He made it last week.
Is this the one I saw the other day?
Yes. This big one.
Here you see a fusion of Japanese Oiran
style and strawberry ice cream.
This is impressive.
And then this.
A fight between a rabbit and a frog.
My place is messy. It deserves to be
in your beautiful gallery.
Yeah, it'd be nice to do a show with you
at my gallery.
Shuhei, I have my work in the other
space. Would you take a look?
You can't make a decision
just by looking at his work.
This way please. This is my studio.
First the series was entitled
Child-Raising Hell.
But later it changed
to Ushio-Raising Hell.
This series is really good.
Noriko, these are all great works.
- Which ones?
- These here.
- My work? Or Noriko's?
- Both!
For this exhibition,
Ushio's art will be in my main room.
But I would also like to show
your work at the same time.
- I'll be visiting your gallery soon.
- Yes, I look forward to it.
I would like to come to see the space.
- Take care. Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
Hello?
How are you?
I bought 15 pounds
of white pigment color.
- 15 pounds?
- Yeah. It was--
- Why?
- Why?
I'm gonna have an exhibition,
and now I'm painting
at the gallery.
I'm using a big brush
and a small brush
and big Cuties.
So people will come this way...
and there, right in the middle.
I see, so this is the main thing.
Jumps out at you.
Right. And there
will be paintings too, right?
- Yeah.
- Where should we put paintings?
All these walls are open.
I'm working on three huge ones now.
We'll cover the walls with them.
I don't want a title that's too general,
like "Two... Two Artists" or something.
Or something obnoxious,
like conceptual words people use...
So pointless.
- Like "serenity and movement."
- Or "Zen whatever."
Unless it's funny,
like "Flipside of Zen."
Here we go.
- How about ROAR! for a title?
- Roar. Roar.
Roar means like... Wow!
Then, Zoom! Whom! Roar!
We can do that too?
No, just one.
Just one "roar!"
So this is Noriko's room.
It's a work in progress.
Wait. Is he running away,
with a bottle of booze?
He is running away, but there
is no way he can afford booze.
He is running to his friend's
so he can drink.
I see and you are stopping me,
like, "Please, it's enough."
"Come on, I need milk for the baby."
- This is you and Ushio?
- No, it's Cutie and Bullie.
Well, it's about me and her.
So it's going to be like a story?
Yes, it will go all around the room.
And then that'll be the end.
Nice space.
Big canvas.
- Jealous? Jealous?
- Yeah. Yes.
Jealousy, jealousy.
Big jealousy.
I feel so free when you're not around.
Oh, so it's better if I'm not here?
Bye-bye.
At first, the story of Cutie
was based on my past with Ushio.
Cutie had a life of struggle.
But after a while,
gradually she became more independent.
Now Cutie defeats Bullie.
She conquers him. She controls him.
Cutie is very good at taming Bullie.
But it's not so easy
to tame him in real life.
I wonder what ever happened
with Alexandra from Guggenheim.
In Guggenheim, they decided
to have Lee Ufan this year.
I wonder if they buy your works
even if they don't exhibit.
- Who?
- Guggenheim.
I don't think they'll buy it.
Octopus!
Hard to say what this is.
If it's good or bad
or finished or unfinished.
I don't think it's good.
Mm.
This is difficult.
Not working.
You're so negative.
You've got to be positive.
- Be positive about what?
- Life is wonderful.
Life is wonderful.
Life should be positive.
When it's blown to pieces,
that's when it becomes art.
Art is messy and dirty
when it pours out of you.
The New York Times once said,
"Shinohara is amazing."
Listen...
Brother...
Why do I...
It makes me cry.
I believe in my career...
Goddamn it!
- Gyu-chan, Gyu-chan...
- Why do I have to?
I want to cry...
I've got nothing.
Listen to me!
This is so hard...
And it's so fantastic...
Now I've got nothing.
You see...
We are the ones suffering the most
from art...
Art is a demon...
a demon that drags you along.
It's not something you can stop,
even if you should.
Maybe you go insane.
Your wife leaves, your kid runs away.
You throw yourself away to be an artist.
"We've reached another morning,
full of hope.
Let's have a productive day
and follow our dreams."
That's what my dumb friend used to say.
Now he's dead.
I've decided to throw out my old ideas
and start fresh with new ones.
I'm going to show another side
of Ushio Shinohara.
Everyone is going to say,
"This is Ushio Shinohara!"
Is it difficult being a couple
and having the same profession?
We are like two flowers in one pot.
It's difficult. Sometimes we don't get
enough nutrients for both of us.
But when everything goes well,
we become two beautiful flowers.
So it's either heaven or hell.
I think this will work.
Oh, this must be the hamburger meat.
Is this all the hamburger meat we have?
I wrapped up all the leftovers.
Celery, okay.
Celery hamburger!
What the hell are you doing?
Ushio style!
One, two, three.
Damn, this is hard!
This hamburger is really dry.
Too much cook?
It's so dry.
Dinosaurs make a roar sound, right?
So that's going to be the title
of my exhibition. Our exhibition.
Roar!
It's also perfect for Cutie's cry.
Cutie cannot cry like that.
It's strange if she cries like that.
Roar!
Yeah. Not like roar...
Cutie cries like this...
But when a dinosaur is hit,
they make a roar sound.
No, it's not a sad cry. It's more like,
"I'm going to kick your ass!"
Cutie is dangerous.
Cutie fights back.
Our show catalogue
should be ready today.
The first time I read it,
I was, like, "What the..."
It starts off
talking about important artist couples,
like Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner,
and now Noriko Shinohara
and Ushio Shinohara.
What the hell? That's crazy!
Is this the right way?
Be careful of this part.
- That's all of it, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Dinosaur's roar is...
...roar, dinosaur roar!
It's my roar, the same.
Poison frog roar.
Samurai roar.
Fighting.
I don't care, but...
I don't like "Love Is..."
It's not necessary for me.
Who put "Love is..." in the title?
Oh, you? Why?
Why? Because I think so.
Love is a roar.
I found out by experience.
- In my life.
- Love is crying?
No, love is a roar.
It's always continuing
for 20, 30 years.
The important thing is, you never agree.
I started thinking by myself.
I stopped to follow you.
If you have money,
you can hire somebody and can do it,
like a secretary or,
you know, assistant.
This is my dream.
I'm a free secretary,
free assistant, free chef.
If you are rich, you can kick me out.
Like that, you are talking about.
You are poor,
that's why you are with me.
I need you.
Because you need somebody
to read the subway map.
Cutie hates Bullie?
No, Cutie loves Bullie so much.
both: Quick, quick, slow.
Quick, quick, slow.
What's funny about people,
is that opposites attract,
like a magnet.
But similar personalities repel
each other and break up.
Even when we were at each other's
throats, there was passion and love.
It's not a typical romance.
Maybe being opposite helped us
to accomplish something in the end.
But mainly it was my endurance, I think.
- Is this your work?
- Yes.
So nice to meet you.
I recognized your pigtails
from your art.
My life with Ushio
has been a constant struggle.
But that has made me who I am today.
Now I think all of that
struggle was necessary for my art.
So if I had to do it over again...
...I would.