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Pride on Film: Beautiful Boxer |
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Written by Phillip Esteem
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RATING: POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT, EXCEPTIONAL
I am a huge fan of foreign films especially those from Asia, where the audience is treated to breathe taking views of the landscape, like what you would find in the pages of a travel magazines or National Geographic. “Beautiful Boxer” is a beautiful film to watch, it’s in the same league as notable foreign films such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” or “Hero.”
 THE SKINNY: “Beautiful Boxer” tells the story of Nong Toom Perginya Charoenphol, the legendary Thai kick boxer, who saved his winnings from the ring to undergo a sexual reassignment operation. Actor Ansanee Suwan delivers an outstanding performance, for which he earned the 2004 Thai Supannahongsa Best Actor Award, sidestepping the stereotypical Katoey (lady boy) portrayal. He instead shows the struggles and triumphs of a transvestite who excels in a macho sport.
THE DIRECTOR: In his directorial debut, Ekachai Uekrongtham brings to the screen a remarkable film that transcends sexuality and suggests a core of humanity in the main character. The movie traces the life of Nong Toom, the son of peasant farmers, from his early years as an effeminate child which was followed by his brief stint in a Buddhist monastery, to his later years in a boxing camp. Suwan’s own life is somewhat a mirror image, to that of his on screen counterpart, it turns out that he’s a professional kick boxer and was raised in the Chiangmai Province just like the real Nong Toom.
 NO STEREOTYPES: All too often the movies have the tendency of playing gays as overly effeminate caricatures that become the butt of jokes. Ekachai Uekrongtham handles sexual in good taste. There are several touching scenes with underlying messages of tolerance. In one such scene, Nong Toom’s parents discuss what have they done wrong to which his father says to his mother, “if he turns out to be a transvestite, what are we going to do,” she counters in a loving way, “if he’s fated that way there’s nothing we can do.”
POWERFUL PUNCH: “Beautiful Boxer” is poignant, powerful and uplifting. When Nong Toom wore make up in the ring for the first time he was the subject of ridicule and just like those in the Trans community who choose to live and work as women, he had to fight. He observes: “it seems like the more make up I put on; the harder my opponents kick me so I kicked them back harder!”
Cast & Credits:
“Beautiful Boxer” is based on the true story Nong Toom, Asia’s most famous boxer
GMM Pictures presents a Ekachai Uekrongtham Film
Starring:
Asanee Suwan as Nong Toom,
Sorapong Chatree as Pi Chart.
Directed and Produced by Ekachai Uekrongtham
Written by Ekachai Uekrongtham and Desmond Sim Kim Jim
Released in the United States by Regent Releasing and Here! Films
Available for sale at www.tlareleasing.com
To see the theatrical trailer visit: www.beautifulboxer-themovie.com
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