Thai gay and katoey films 2003

Acting Serious, Living Rationally, Thinking Gay

Currently appearing in As You Like It at the White Bear Theatre, London

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Thai gay films 2003-2007: Introduction Index

The Adventure of Iron Pussy
(Huajai toranong)

This was one of the first katoey* movies I saw in Thailand, which meant that I saw it unaware of the background from which it came. It's a comedy about a man whose day job is as a clerk in one of Thailand's ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores and who moonlights in drag as a government secret agent - code name, Iron Pussy.

I laughed. Not uproariously, but appreciatively at the antics that were both over-the-top and somewhat dated. Later I came across the wikipedia article that placed the film in context. It's a pastiche of 1970s martial arts and

of 1970s martial arts and musical films made in Thailand, starring performance artist Michael Shaowanasi, directed by Michael** together with Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who is better known for his more sombre films including the gay-themed Tropical Malady.

Does Iron Pussy (the Thai title translates more prosaically as Proud Heart) differ substantially from the string of over-the-top katoey comedies that the mainstream production houses bring out every year? Not much. Apichatpong and Michael bring more cinematic depth to their production, but like the major studios they play heavily to the audiences' expectations of transgenders on the silver screen - as either stunningly beautiful, feminine-voiced but potentially evil, or ugly, loud and often cowardly. Iron Pussy displays both sides of the coin. As the heroine, she is resolutely on the side of Good, but she gets her fair share of histrionics too.

Catch it if you can. The opening scene is a hoot and although it drags a bit in the second half, it's a still a fun introduction to camp Thai film.

* Transgender / ladyboy - for more background, click here.
** In Thai people are always referred to by their personal name. Family names are only used the first time someone is identified.

marks out of 10: social interest: 5 gay interest: 4 film quality: 6
IMDb entry film website not found wikipedia

Miss Queen Thailand

There is not much I can say about this film. I picked up an illegal copy in Laos a couple of years ago and have only just watched it - in London and without a native speaker to confirm the parts where my Thai was not up to scratch. (No, there are no subtitles.) Google is not very helpful, except to find a couple of websites where the dvd is on sale - and that a sequel appeared in 2004. I'm not even sure that it received a cinema release - I was living in Bangkok at the the time and don't remember either part being advertised. Although none of my Thai friends have heard of it, one website claims that 200,000 copies were sold in two months.

The story is slight. A man and his katoey partner are looking for an entrant to sponsor in the (fictitious) annual Miss Queen Thailand competition. There's a lesbian and a beautiful woman and much stereotyped humour. It's not particularly gay- or katoey-positive (the closing scene is of a heterosexual couple in love), although there are two scenes in which transphobic young men find their match.

marks out of 10: social interest: 4 katoey interest: 4 film quality: 4
IMDb entry not found film website not found wikipedia entry not found

Index of Thai gay and katoey films
Other aspects of gay life in Thailand

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