Beautiful Boxer

With transgendered Thai sports stories, a hot commodity since the success of the 2002 volleyball comedy Iron Ladies, the wellknown story of legendary kickboxer Parinya ''Nang Toom'' Charoenphol was sure to make it to the big screen. And luckily, director Ekachai Uekringtham, who co-wrote the script with Desmond Sim Kim Jin, did not reduce the fighter's life to an ordinary rags-to-riches, defeat-the-bullies, feelgood fairy tale. Ekachai graciously refrains from using Nang Toom's confused identity for comedy, allowing the story all the complexity and pain it needs to ring true. Real-life champion kickboxer
Asanee Suwan gives an equally respectful performance as Nang Toom, lovable both in and out of the ring,
The film does focus on feelings, but its many fight sequences give it forward drive and structure. The action climaxes in a crosssports, cross-gendered bout at the Tokyo Dome, with the Japanese female wrestler Kyoko Inoue appearing as her gargantuan self. In all its bizarre glory, the scene provides one of the greatest sport metaphors in film history: an illustration of the struggle of negotiating gender identity that is both intelligent and entertaining.

JOHANNA KOLJONEN

Premiärstatus
Svensk premiär: Medverkande
Asanee Suwan, Sorapong Chatree, Orn-Anong Panyawong: Producent
Ekachai Uekrongtham: Manus
Ekachai Uekrongtham, Desmond Sim Kim Jim: Foto
Choochart Nantitanyatada: Musik
Amornbhong Methakunavudh: Talat språk
Thai