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SCHEMA REVIEW: September 23, 2004

Beautiful Boxer

DIR: Ekachai Uekrongtham | Thailand | 2003 | 116 min.
In English and Thai with English subtitles

SHOWTIMES:
Thurs. Sept. 23 | 9:00pm | Granville 7 Cinema, Theatre 4
Thurs. Sept. 30 | 1:00pm | Granville 7 Cinema, Theatre 7
Wed. Oct. 6 | 7:00pm | Vogue

If you don’t already know the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol (aka Nong Toom), Beautiful Boxer may sound a little hard to believe. Like many boys in Thailand, Toom falls into professional kickboxing at a young age to help support his family. But (probably) unlike most aspiring kickboxers, Toom also has a secret wish for himself – sexual reassignment surgery. It comes as a bit of a shock to his family and friends when the gentle and demure Toom turns out to be a great kickboxer who goes on to become a prize-winning champion.

You might remember the hit Iron Ladies that played at VIFF a few years back. It was about tranny volleyball players and was also based on a true story. This is where the similarities end. Beautiful Boxer is a touching story that never ridicules its protagonist...

First-time actor and real-life macho kickboxing guy Asanee Suwan displays not only awe-inspiring physical grace but also an unexpected sensitivity to the material that carries throughout the film. Often in these stories, we see the protagonist struggling with his sexual identity and self-loathing. The central struggle in Beautiful Boxer is within Toom but it’s between a fundamental hatred of violence and the recognition that kickboxing may be the only way for Toom to make enough money to realize his actual dream. It makes the film quite compelling. When Toom falters from his path, the impact is so much more than a defeat in the ring. The women in Toom’s life become his lifelines - from his mother (who protects Toom and teaches him to be respect himself), to his trainer’s wife (who teaches Toom how to apply makeup and helps him out himself), to his best friend (who proves that fag hags are indeed a universal truth).

Posted by gloria wong at September 23, 2004 08:15 AM
Other Viewer's Comments

Its a long one...

Transvestites or ladyboys/katoeys, as they call them in Thailand, are plentiful there. But, like the synopsis suggests, could you ever imagine a kick-boxer, and a champion at that, being one?

Kickboxing or the full Muay Thai style of it is perhaps the most brutal sport that exists. It aint figure skating or diving, its the 'art of 8 limbs.' Thats 2 fists, 2 legs, 2 knees and 2 elbows that are used to bash up your opponent.

I went to Thailand for the first time about a year ago and ya, there are a ton of ladyboys/katoeys and I wondered why are there so many in Thailand? What circumstances for Thai guys make many wanna go the other route?

One feeling I got is that gays or transgendered peoples are not discriminated in the same vein as they are in western society.

Another reason, I thought, is that, Buddhism, unlike the other major religions, do not systematically/ideologically discriminate against it either.

But I was shocked to find out that the extent of sexist structure in Thai society. I know the developing world isnt necessarily the ideal place for the modern woman but I didnt know that it was common place for married guys to have 'minor wives' and hit the hooker brothels to no consequence.

What really shocked and disappointed me even more was that the Buddhist ideology is used to reinforce the sexist societal structure. Its nothing new that many societies view women as inferior to men but in Thailand, apparently they used Buddhism to teach people that if you are a woman its because you screwed up and sinned in a past life (bad karma).

I guess no religion is safe from being warped to whatever way that suits the powers that be but in my naive mind, I guess, I thought Buddhism, in general, stayed away from that kinda shit more. It may, overall, but still isnt free from it, I guess.

The prostitution industry must a large part to do with it too. Sure it took off to the big business it is today with the Vietnam war but i found out that prostitution has always been a part of Thai society for ages.

I guess the fact that the Muay Thai world is more a jock type scene than regualar Thai society would make it a lot harder for a ladyboy to get by but I had the impression that Muay Thai is kinda like Sumo in that they are both national sports of the respective countries, steeped in tradition and dont allow for a lot of wild antics or trash talking the way western boxing or pro-sports do.

I was pretty sure that Muay Thai, at the Lumphini stadium level, does not allow the antics that Nong Toom's opponents did in the movie but then again, since Toom was such a controversial and unprecedented element to the world of Muay Thai, I'm sure some of the fighters did not like him at all either.

The production obviously aint like a Hero but I agree that the lead Asanee Suwan was definately the key to holding this flick down. He was awesome. I thought he was an actor trained kickboxer but was shocked to find out the opposite.

All in all, the movie was a little syrupy but I think Suwan's wicked performance balanced that out and with my trip of Thailand still resonating in my mind a year later, I was quite touched by the movie.

SPOILER: Though the flick is mostly an emotional drama, it does have its funny parts too. The funniest part had to be when Toom's training camp caretaker, gave him a special makeup kit that she had stored away and never used. It was kit with multiple compartments, a real fancy thing. The excitement on Toom's face was hilarious.

Posted by: Boon at September 24, 2004 12:30 PM

Based on True Story films always get me. Yes, I agree that this film is different from Iron Ladies in that it is more serious in tone and definitely more along the lines of melodrama. The actor playing Nong Toom was amazing. It was a bit long and drawn out at points, but overall I liked this film and would recommend it.

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