Beautiful Boxer

I had the good fortune to catch the movie in my country Singapore, where the local audience has been warming up to Thai movies in recent months, no less thanks to other Thai movies in the same league that has made an impact here - notably "Ong Bak" and "Fan Chan".

While Beautiful Boxer marks theatre director Ekachai Uekrongtham's directorial debut in the cinematic stage(previously best known for his Chang & Eng musical), it certainly packs a poignant & powerful punch with a deftly artistic element that will pave the way for his future movies to come.

Actor Asanee Suwan does a fine job as reel-life Nong Toom struggling to make enough money as a thai kick boxer to undergo the knife in his dream to become a real woman. The director treats his audience to a refreshing array of kick boxing stunts coupled with his artistic creativity that makes the action and poignant scenes commendable and touching. The inner struggles faced by Nong Toom as he battle the collision of testosterone and estrogen within his body and soul delivers the true essence and spirit of the movie that makes watching it an uplifting experience. The close relationship and love he gets from his endearing mother soothes his inner pain and cushion the degree of sympathy showered on his potrayal as a pitiful character.

Some of us can probably resonate with his pain and inner conflicts as there are often setbacks that leaves us "emotionally crippled". The reflective scenes with plenty of natural scenary could, however, been better choreographed with more grace to create a more sombre mood. Above all, Asanee potrays the character with tremendous aplomb and steely will, and was duly rewarded with a 2004 Thai Suppanahongsa Best Actor Award.

As my tagline suggests, its rare to see such a testosterone and estrogen charged movie within the same character A commendable effort that will turn the spotlight on finer Thai movies to come. 4 stars out of 5. - Tukta's Sarmee

I thought it was a very touching and powerful movie. Parinya Toom showed a lot of courage and heart and stood up for what she wanted to do and believed in herself. I thought a lot more people were understanding in the choice she made and showed that the Thai culture is very understanding. I felt sorry for her, however, when she fought the Japanese professional wrestler because it seemed like more of publicity stunt than a real fight which I think hurt her reputation with the people.

Overall I thought it was a great film and really shows that you can follow through with anything you want to.

I recently watched this movie in my Anthropology class. I honestly had no idea what it was going to be about. My first assumption, was that the boxer was a beautiful person and that he turned thai boxing into an art rather than "a violent sport." Than after it was over, I thought it was a great movie. It was even better because it made in Thailand and gave a realistic take on Thai culture. I don't know how accepting people would be here in the United States with a transsexual boxer fighting in makeup. But then again we have the WWE who have an array of different types of characters, so then again it just might be okay. I really enjoyed how he was fighting to help support his family back home and not just for fame and glory. I definitely would recommend this film.

Sylvia Torres Milwaukee, WI

Based on the true story of a famous Thai transsexual, Nong Toom, this film is about a championship kick-boxer, who excels in the ultra-macho martial art, purely to raise money to finance his sex-change. While it could have been truly lurid and tasteless, the film has been handled with great seriousness and sympathy, with an excellent performance from a non-actor, real life kick-boxer Asanee Suwan, in the central role. This film brings to mind the similarly sensitively handled "Ma Vie En Rose", the Belgian film from a few years ago. Confused gender identity has been examined in several recent films, but what takes one aback is the testosterone-fueled back-drop against which this story unfolds. The gentle Nong Toom is derided and teased mercilessly for his effeminacy, but it's only when he realizes the one way by he can achieve his female body is via the kick-boxing championship prize money, that he becomes motivated and focused on this unlikely (for him) sport. Thai films are coming of age and the new crop of films and directors do not shy away from uncomfortable issues or controversial topics.

I almost did not believe that this was a true story. I didn't know that this movie would go into that much detail about Toom. The movie followed him from a small boy to full grown man or should I say woman. Also, I did not know that Thai boxing was losing its appeal to the Thailand audience. Now Thai boxing is back in full swing worldwide thanks to Toom. It was very interesting to go into rural and urban Thailand to see the vast difference between the two. I was required to view this movie as part of my class, but in all reality it proved to be one I will remember. Just an overall good movie. This movie has both action for the guys and beauty for the girls so this one might even be a good date movie. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see the REAL Thailand the country, the people, and the culture or simply a tearjerker that packs a punch.