Overrated and overhyped

The acting in this movie is really good.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This was the first time I had watched a Thai movie, and I figured it was going to be a corny melo drama with not much depth to it. However this movie turned out to be the complete opposite. I was also surprised to see how the main character was not actually an actor, but real life thai kick boxer. The acting was truly believable and almost had me in tears through out the movie.What I found really interesting to see was how the people of Thailand was not accepting of transgendered people and gays. I always imagined Thailand to be one of the only countries that did not have biased views on different sexualities and open to transvestites/ transgendered people. Therefore it was shocking to see how the main character had to deal with the harassment as he grew up to become a kick boxer. The movie filmed kick boxing in a beautiful, artistic way. Although I imagined it to be an aggressive, violent, cruel sport, the movie showed kick boxing to be a choreographed, stylized art instead. The scene where the main character wakes up early to peak at the practices done by the chosen, high level kick boxers was shot beautifully. The use of light from the back, making the fighters figures look more like shadows was great and intesified the story.Overall this movie was a heartbreaking, touching movie that really moved me and helped me understand how biased our culture is. There is no such thing as "normal", even the ones that fit in that category have a difficult time trying to achieve that state of "normality". This movie helped me see that the education and religion needs to be adjusted so that everybody can live comfortably in their own body and their sexuality.

Beautiful Boxer is an excellent film that combines a compelling story that does a great job at portraying a not often seen subject and deftly filmed and choreographed boxing matches. The film focuses on portraying the true story of the life of a boxer in Thailand. the fact that the film is based on a true story and that many of the events n the film actually happened add to the films impact overall. the director did a good job with the art direction and the cinematography is especially great during the boxing matches. there are many times throughout the film where i was struck by how much more real these fights seemed than some found in major Hollywood movies. the character development is also good. we can see how important it is to have confidence in your self and to never give up on your dreams. Overall I would definitely watch this movie again and if you like action movies with deeper stories I recommend this film.

The Beautiful Boxer is a Thai drama based on the real life of Nong Thoom, a transgender Muay Thai boxer. It follows his struggles as a transgender and his problems he faces with family, as a Muay Thai boxer, and the Media's sensational focus on his identity. This film is full of insightful human drama and with sometimes comedic element that really captures the innocence of Nong Thoom to follows his destiny and finds his place in society. The gender of Nong Thoom is clearly portrayed throughout his life and his passion for the beauty of Muay Thai boxing. The two seem to not go together and creates his struggles with the industry and the prejudice that attacks with his character. As he becomes more comfortable in his own skin, he realizes through the media's attention that he is not truly accepted by society. The film succeeds in portraying the balance Nong Thoom's mentality as a woman and his physical need to be a woman. Stereotypes towards transgenders and transsexuals in Thai are also shown. Although their identities are quite known in mainstream culture, they are not "accepted" or respected as other "standard genders". The film also focuses on the childhood of Nong Thoom, and sends a particularly strong element to understand the motif and psychology behind his "decision" to be a woman, merely to show that it is what he is destined to be.

I had not heard of this movie before I saw it, so I didn't really have any expectations, however I was very pleasantly surprised. Most movies that portray transgendered people or transvestites lean heavily on the use of stereotypes to portray characters. While the movie does little to show the difference between these types of people and doesn't really even It is also nice to see a movie which from a non-western culture take on these types of issues.The film is about a Thai boy Parinya Charoenphol, also known as Nong Toom who, from a very young age knew that he was not truly a boy. The very gentle Toom had, for most of his life knew that his sex and his gender are very different, but had no real way of affording an operation to make himself feel like a complete person. When he first winds up in a Muay Thai match, Toom is very afraid of getting injured, however a lucky hit makes him win.With the cash prize in hand and with a new found confidence gained by his ability to defend himself Toom decides to join a Muay Thai training camp. He has several initial troubles as he feels like the only women in a group surrounded by men. However he is able to get some help in secretly expressing his feminism from the wife of the camps coach. The coach Pi Chart eventually finds out Toom's secret after he has begun to win a few fights. To his surprise Toom is encouraged to keep wearing makeup, even during matches.Toom had begun fighting to free his family from financial burdens and to earn enough money to get a sex change operation. He's transvistism gave him an advantage with the audience, they may have laughed at him at first, but once he won so many matches, many of which ended in knock outs, the crowds loved him and his antics. Some accused Toom of not being a real transgendered person, but it appears that she was accepted on mass, before and after her surgery.This movie boldly speaks out on gender issues, and it is treated very differently than it would be in the West. Yes, there is some comedy in the actions and dressing of Toom when he cross dresses. However, his sexuality and gender isn't part of the comedy of the movie as it would probably be in an American movie. It is addressed more as a fact and in a more mature way.