What happens when Ong Bak meets the Iron Ladies? The rollicking Thai film Beautiful Boxer provides the answer.
Based on the real-life story of model and actress Nong Toom, the movie smartly blends Thai kickboxing and transvestites, two well-known yet contradictory elements of Thai culture.
They were the focus of two previous Thai productions - Ong Bak, a film about a Thai kickboxer, and Iron Ladies, which revolved around transvestites playing volleyball.
In Beautiful Boxer, Toom - a pretty woman - was once a man. He wasn't just an ordinary man, but a fierce kickboxing champion who won 20 out of 22 provincial fights before getting his big break in Bangkok.
Earning money to support his poor family was only part of the reason why he entered the ring. Toom's real aim was to save up for a sex-change operation. His dream was to become a woman.
The film opens with a foreign journalist trying to track down Toom (Asanee Suwan) for an interview, but is beaten up by local gangsters. Toom, who is now a beautiful woman, saves the man's life and accepts his request. Toom tells the reporter all about her past - her life as a kickboxer and desire to become a woman. First-time director Ekachai Uekrongtham's makes the audience laugh and cry at the same time.
You might not agree with what Toom has decided to do with her life, but it is perfect material for a film.
