Beautiful Boxer
 Based
on the true story of Thailand’s famed transexual kickboxer, Beautiful
Boxer is a poignant action drama that punches straight into the heart
and mind of a boy who fights like a man so he can become a
woman.
Believing he’s a girl trapped in a boy’s body since childhood,
Parinya Charoenphol (affectionately known as Nong Toom in Thailand) sets
out to master the most masculine and lethal sport of Muay Thai (Thai
kickboxing) to earn a living and to achieve his ultimate goal of total
femininity. Touching, funny and packed with breathtaking Thai kickboxing
scenes, Beautiful Boxer traces Nong Toom’s childhood, teenage life
as a traveling monk, grueling days in boxing camps and explosive matches
where he knocks out most of his opponents across Thailand and Japan.
Winner of two Thai ‘Oscars’ for Best Actor and Best Makeup,
the film had its international premiere at the Berlin International Film
Festival. It has since garnered 10 international awards to date including
Best Feature Film awards from Milan, Brussels, Montreal and Torino plus
a string of other awards from Los Angeles, San Sebastian, Seattle, Oslo
and India.
The Cast
Starring real-life kickboxing champ Asanee Suwan in the lead role, Beautiful
Boxer also features acclaimed performances by award-winning veteran actor
Sorapong Chatree (Thailand’s ‘Robert De Niro) in the role
of Nong Toom’s coach and former Miss Thailand Orn-Anong Panyawong
in the role of Nong Toom’s mother.
Asanee Suwan as transexual kickboxer Nong Toom
A professional boxer since 12, Asanee Suwan has fought in nearly 200
matches in Thailand and Denmark, and won in most of them. Ranked No.
5 by the World Muay Thai Council in the 118 pound category, he was also
named the Best Kickboxer by the Association of Muay Thai for the Northern
Region of Thailand in 2001. Other boxing accolades include the 2000 Feather
Weight Champion (Association of Muay Thai for the Northern Region) and
the 1994 Rising Star 29kg Champion (Cholburee province).
Nong Toom's trademark pre-fight dance ritual
Discovered through nation-wide open auditions which attracted people
from all walks of life from more than 40 provinces across Thailand, Asanee
had to spend nearly a year preparing for the role of Nong Toom. He attended
acting, movement and ballet classes; took likay (traditional Thai street
opera) lessons; and went through an intensive personality grooming course
usually reserved for beauty queens. Before filming certain pivotal scenes
in the film, he was also required to stick to a strict skin and body
care regime which include numerous body scrub and hair removal sessions.
In addition, he had to lose substantial amount of weight and muscle to
make himself physically more feminine. Nong Toom herself also gave Asanee
one-to-one training sessions to help him perfect her trademark dance
rituals which she performed before every boxing match.
Kyoko Inoue, Japan’s
top female wrestler was invited to play herself in the film. A seasoned
wrestler with more than 3,000 wrestling
matches to her credit, Kyoko has fought with Nong Toom in real life
in Tokyo on 24 November 1988.
The Muay Thai ring is no place to be worrying about breaking a nail!
That historical match was reenacted in the film’s spectacular
fight sequence shot in Japan’s Tokyo Dome, one of the world’s
largest indoor stadiums. Nong Toom’s ten other opponents in the
movie were also played by real-life professional kickboxers. Together,
these professional kickboxers have chalked up more than 1,000 professional
bouts in their respective boxing careers.
The fight choreography in the film was created in conjunction with one
of Thailand’s top Muay Thai teachers Sanae Tupthimtong. He has
collaborated with Uekrongtham in 1998 to create fight choreography between
the original Siamese Twins and the villagers in Chang & Eng – The
Musical.
Nong Toom Parinya Charoenphol herself also had a guest-starring role
in the film.
The Director's Message
 Ekachai Uekrongtham, the film's director said, “I was hesitant
to make a film about Nong Toom’s life at first. I’d heard
of her and was intrigued by her story. To me, she’s a walking paradox:
a lethal kickboxer who fights like a man but dreams of becoming a woman.
The conflicts within such a young person must have been extraordinary,
I thought. There’s certainly a fertile ground there for a great
deal of dramatic exploration. But I was not sure if I’d be able
to find an emotional anchor in her controversial story for myself, for
the audience.
My first meeting with Nong Toom took place not long after she had her
sex change operation. Admittedly, I went to that meeting with some pre-conceived
ideas about who she is, the boy she was, and the man she used to be.
She surprised me.
So here it is… a story of a human being who goes on an incredible
emotional journey to try to match his heart with his body. Masculinity
vs. Femininity. Heart vs. Head. Dream vs. Reality. Fighting vs. Living.”
About the Real Life Nong Toom
He is now a she. In real life, Nong Toom’s dream has come true
after undergoing a sex-change operation in 1999.
The real life Nong Toom in photos from age 6 to 21
Now a model, actress and Muay Thai teacher based in Bangkok, Nong Toom
can no longer fight in the ring as women are not allowed in professional
boxing rings for men in Thailand.
Born into a poor family of nomads, Nong Toom spent his childhood traveling
around the country with his family before settling down in Chiangmai
province in the Northern part of Thailand. Prior to his big match in
Bangkok in February 1998, he'd won 20 out of 22 matches in many provinces.
He's feared by his opponents for his trademark swooping kicks, flying
elbows and stinging uppercuts. His deadly prowess in the ring made it
hard for the public to understand his ambition of becoming a woman.
Undoubtedly one of Thailand's best known kickboxers, Nong Toom is admired
by many for his courage and despised by others who accused him of tarnishing
the masculine image of Thai kickboxing.
Beautiful Boxer is now screening at selected cinemas around the world
and will be released in cinemas in UK by Tartan Films on 21st October
2005.
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