Muay Thai Chaiya

Muay Thai Chaiya
The Thai theatrical poster.
Directed by	Kongkiat Khomsiri
Produced by	Charoen Iamphungporn Apiradee Iamphungporn Kiatkamol Iamphungphorn Thanit Jitnukul
Written by	Kongkiat Khomsiri
Starring	Akara Amarttayakul Thawatchai Penpakdee Sonthaya Chitmanee Sarita Kongpech Sangthong Ket-U-Tong
Cinematography	Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Distributed by	Five Star Production
Release date(s)	Thailand: August 30, 2007
Country	Thailand
Language	Thai

Muay Thai Chaiya or Chaiya (Thai: ไชยา) is a 2007 Thai drama film about two talented muay Thai boxers, boyhood friends whose lives take divergent paths after they arrive in Bangkok. The film is the solo directorial debut by Kongkiat Khomsiri, who had previously been among seven directors on Art of the Devil 2, and had written the screenplay for The Unseeable.

It premiered as the closing film at the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival, and opened in wide release in Thailand cinemas on August 30, 2007.^[1]

Plot

Growing up in Chaiya, Surat Thani Province, three boys, Piak, Pao and Samor, are followers of Pao's brother, Krang (Prawit Kittichanthira), a legendary muay Thai fighter who is taught by Pao's father, Tew (Samart Payakaroon).

After an accident partially cripples Samor, Piak and Pao train as boxers under Tew, but the boxing school is broken up when Tew and Krang are recruited for a gym in Bangkok.

Eventually, Piak and Pao go to Bangkok themselves, bringing along Samor, and Sripai, a nurse who is engaged to Piak, but whom Pao secretly loves.

Piak's hot-headedness makes him a fierce fighter, but it is also a liability that costs him a fight and ends his career. He joins the world of underground bare-knuckles brawling, and he and Samor take on other jobs in the underworld as well, including helping out at go-go bar where the pretty Warn dances and seduces Piak. While working for the underworld, both of them ended up also doing dirty works for their boss.

Pao, meanwhile, begins training with his father, and works his way up the ranks, is put forward as a top boxer in a match against a fierce farang, Diamond Sullivan, which places Pao at odds with the gangsters whom Piak and Samor work for.KRU PAIK. Sripai later saw Piak in bed with Warn and went to find Pao. Pao and Sripai live together since while Piak took over the underground business once his boss was killed by another rival boss.

Eventually the film climax at Pao's fight with Diamond. Pao was knocked down several times, but came victorious as he remembers the time three of them trained together as a young boy.

Although the film has received accolades for its action sequences, the films representation of the art of Muay Chaiya is not always accurate. The some depiction in the movie is more akin to the stadium style of Muay Thai, for example, where kicks are performed dropping one hand. A lot of the footwork doesn't utilize the yang saam khum that traditional Muay Chaiya uses. Muay Chaiya technique as espoused by the last surviving grandmaster Ajarn Ketr Siripatyai, does not resemble stadium muay thai in many regards.

There were only a few authentic Muay Chaiya practitioners in the movie, one of which was (Tey) Prawit Kittichanthira who played Krangsuk. He is one of the top students in the style, and one of the few people who have proved that the style can be used in, and out of the ring.

Cast

• Akara Amarttayakul as Piak
• Thawatchai Penpakdee as Pao
• Sonthaya Chitmanee as Samor
• Sarita Kongpech as Sripai
• Sangthong Ket-U-Tong as Warn
• Prawit Kittichanthira as Krangsuk
• Samart Payakaroon as Tew
• Don Ferguson as Diamond Sullivan

Production

Director Wisit Sasanatieng served as an uncredited art director on Muay Thai Chaiya.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The 10 Amazing New Projects from BFM 2007", Bioscope Focus (Bangkok International Film Festival): 4–5, 2007-07-29 

External links

• Muay thai Chaiya Website
• Official site
• Muay Thai Chaiya at the Internet Movie Database