Why I love 'Beautiful Boxer'

One of my favorite Asian films of all time is actually ‘Beautiful Boxer’. The movie evolved around a young man who is a talented kickboxer and also happens to have woman soul. There are many reason why I love this movie. Not just that it is actually an inspiration, a real life story that tells you that you are what you are and the best person to be is yourself. This has been my own motto for quite some times but I don’t think I’ve reached Nong Toom states yet.

As I mentioned, there are several things that I love about this movie and some of them are the actual story behind the movie itself. So here are some of those reasons.


The fighting looks real because the actor is an actual Muay Thai boxer.


Asanee Suwan has been kickboxing since he was 12 years old. He is one of Thailand top kickboxer, with over than 180 fights. Ranked No. 5 by the World Muay Thai Council in the 118 pound category, he was also named the Best Boxer by the Association of Muay Thai for the Northern Region in 2001.

The fighting sequence looked real, flawless and comes with grace and power. If an ordinary actor was chosen for this, I don’t think the effect would’ve been the same. Asanee was also convincing as a ‘Kathoey’ or ladyboys and he got his mannerism into perfection without being too obvious. Quite a feat for someone who is not a professional actor.

Beautiful Boxer on IMDB


Nong Toom is real.
Yes, I’m quite aware that this movie is based on a true story. But sometimes, movies seems to deviate away from reality. Beautiful Boxer kept most of the stories closer to the real Nong Toom or Parinya Charoenpol. The movie ended with her being a performer. However, in 2006, three years after the movie was made, Parinya came back into kickboxing. She now building ‘Parinya Muay Thai’; a boxing and health center. She is also a fitness and boxing instructor.

I love martial art.
I do love martial art though I don’t have enough discipline to practice one. I do think martial art is an art, so I love when Nong Toom@ Asanee delivered all those kicks, jab and punches. And did you know he was instructed to learn ballet as part of training for the movie? So the end result is a strong yet graceful fight.

Similarities of both Parinya and Asanee.

• Both are Gemini.
• Both started kickboxing at the age of 12 to help their family.
• Both was raised in Chiangmai province.
• Asanee was born in 1980, Parinya was born in 1981.

So these are the things that I love about ‘Beautiful Boxer’. To me, especially, it means it is okay to be a woman and actually loves to fight.

The evolution of Parinya@Nong Toom