JiFFest-review-Boxers
JiFFest-review-Boxers
JP/19/BOXER
Just an everyday tale of kickboxing and a sex change
John Badalu
Contributor/Jakarta
john badalu@yahoo.com
So many boxing films have been made, from Ali and Bloodsport to
Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby.
But why did Beautiful Boxer stand out and get so much
sympathy at its Berlin Film Festival premiere two years ago? Is
it because it comes from Thailand or because it's all about Thai
kickboxing?
Director Ekachai Uekrongtham found a unique story of a Thai
kickboxer who took the limelight in his teens. The reason why
Parinya Charoenphol (the hero/heroine) went into kickboxing was
to earn enough money to have a sex change.
Coming from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, Parinya
Charoenphol (later known as Nong Toom in the boxing arena) was
already determined to master Thai kickboxing with distinctive
drive.
He wanted to be a woman and the fastest way to get enough
money was to dive into the boxing arena. He fought like a man so
he could become a woman. Believing he was a woman trapped in a
man's body, he trained hard to become a professional boxer.
His fight ritual starts with full face makeup; he also
performs a traditional dance in the ring and always kisses his
opponent after a match as he cannot stomach seeing a bleeding
opponent in pain.
He becomes a legend because of his ritual as well as his
swooping kicks, flying elbows and stinging uppercuts.
The paradox in Nong Toom is complex: Masculinity versus
feminity; heart versus head; dreams versus reality; fighting
versus living.
Although she can no longer fight in the ring because women are
not allowed in the male professional sport in Thailand, boxing is
still very much in her heart. She is now teaching kickboxing to
children. She also works as a model and actress in Bangkok.
Attending JiFFest for her film, Nong Toom, who is now a
beautiful woman said, "I'm surprised at people's positive
reaction over here. It meant a lot to me." The screening was
almost full with a lot of people cheering during the fight
sequences.
"Of course, it is not 100 percent of my life story, as the
film would ideally like to dramatize some parts but Ekachai
managed to capture most of the important events in my life."
The Q&A session at the end of the film was endless. Many in
the audience were still fascinated by her appearance on stage.
Everybody wanted to take a picture with her. She took off her
high-heeled shoes and demonstrated some kickboxing movements for
all to see.
Asanee Suwan, the actor who plays her, also attended the
screening. "I was a professional Thai kickboxer myself. When I
heard about this film, I took a chance on the casting. It wasn't
as easy as I thought. It took me more than a year to study the
character of Nong Toom.
"I had to take an acting class: I learned how to dance and,
furthermore, had to take a personality enhancement course
designed to groom beauty queens.
"I'm very different to Nong Toom. I'm a man and I had to spend
some time with her to learn her body language as a woman". Before
playing Nong Toom in the film, Asanee was quite a well-known
kickboxer himself.
He was ranked no. 5 by the World Muay Thai Council in 118-
pound category. He has fought in 180 matches in Thailand and
Denmark and has won in most of them.
Director Ekachai is still probably a new name in the film
world, but his experience in staging various plays and musical
like Viva Viagra!, Autumn Tom Yam, Mail-Order Brides and
Confessions of Three Unmarried Women are well-known across
Southeast Asia as well as in the U.S.
He is now shooting his second feature film.
Touching, funny and jam-packed with breathtaking kickboxing
sequences, the film has traveled to many festivals and won some
awards, including Best Film at the Turin Gay and Lesbian Film
Festival in Italy.
Asanee Suwan won the Supannahongsa Award for Best Actor
(Thailand's equivalent to an Oscar) for this movie.
Beautiful Boxer will be screened at JiFFest at 9:30 p.m. on Dec
16 at Djakarta Teater 1. For more information click on
www.jiffest.org or hotline number 31925115.