Beautiful Boxer

From Thailand, comes a truly astonishing film that is all the more remarkable because it is based on a true story, that of Nong Toom, a young boy who rises to the top of the lethal sport of Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing), we see him in the film in what is very authentic footage taking on all number of kickboxing bouts and as Champion defending his title, and yet Nong shows signs of wishing to be a transvestite, so you have that incredible dichotomy, a hard and physical fighter in the ring and a man who likes to dress up and put on make-up out of it.

Nong, not happy as a man, vows to change into a woman (he believes ultimately that he should have been born a woman) and true to his word (this based on a true story) in the latter part of the film, and at the height of the kickboxing profession as a renowned international kickboxer, Nong fulfils his deeply felt wish.

Beautiful Boxer has won two Thai 'Oscars' and has since won another 10 film awards around the world, for the honest and very in-depth portrayal of a young kickboxer (you see a great deal of the fights, the training, the pressure in and out of the ring) and a kickboxer who also has desires to be something else and is brave enough to not hide those feelings. Its well worth catching if you fancy seeing it.

Matt Arnoldi