Muay Thai Chaiya

Did You Know?

• Samart Payakaroon, a real-life legendary Muay Thai fighter, played the role of Tew.
• The climactic fight takes place at Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok.

Plot

Growing up in the town of Chaiya, located in Surat Thani Province, three boys named Piak, Pao, and Samor look up to Krang, Pao’s older brother. Krang is a famous Muay Thai fighter trained by his father, Tew. After an accident leaves Samor partially crippled, Piak and Pao begin training as boxers under Tew, who instructs them in the Muay Chaiya style. However, their school is disbanded when Tew and Krang are recruited to a gym in Bangkok. Eventually, Piak and Pao decide to head to Bangkok themselves, bringing Samor and Sripai along. Sripai is a nurse engaged to Piak, though Pao secretly loves her. Upon arriving, they discover that Tew has become a monk after Krangsuk took his own life, having been accused of throwing a fight.

Piak’s skill in Muay Chaiya and his quick temper make him a powerful fighter, but his hotheadedness also costs him a match and ends his professional career. He then turns to underground bare-knuckle brawling, where his Muay Chaiya abilities help him thrive. Along with Samor, he takes on other criminal jobs, including working at a go-go bar where a dancer named Warn seduces him. As they work for their boss, they handle various dirty tasks. Sripai eventually discovers Piak in bed with Warn and leaves to find Pao. Pao and Sripai begin living together, while Piak takes over the underground business after his boss is killed by a rival.

Meanwhile, Pao starts training again with his father and climbs the ranks. He is selected to fight a tough foreigner named Diamond Sullivan, who uses performance-enhancing drugs. This puts Pao in conflict with the gangsters Piak and Samor work for, known as Kru Paik. Pao loses the first bout against Diamond. Later, Piak and Samor are ordered to kill Pao, but Piak deliberately shoots him in a non-fatal way. Piak is then arrested and sent to prison. At the same time, Pao is scheduled for a rematch with Diamond Sullivan, but the gangsters want Pao to throw the fight or be killed. Samor sends Pao a tape recording urging him to give everything he has in the match.

While being transferred, Piak is freed with Samor’s help, and the two set out to stop another attempt on Pao’s life. Samor sacrifices himself by detonating an explosive vest, killing several gangsters in a car. Piak rushes to Rajadamnern Stadium, where Pao’s fight is happening, and kills most of the remaining gang members. The film builds to Pao’s second fight with Diamond. Pao is beaten badly and knocked down multiple times, but he ultimately wins by knocking out Diamond with a Muay Chaiya technique his brother once used, as he recalls the three of them training together as boys.

After Pao’s victory, the crime boss orders his men to kill Pao, but Piak captures the boss as police surround them. Piak initially surrenders, persuaded by Pao and Sripai not to murder the boss. But when the boss threatens Sripai and her daughter, Piak breaks free, grabs a policeman’s gun, and fatally shoots the boss. In turn, Piak is fatally shot himself. He dies surrounded by Pao and Sripai. The film ends with Pao, Sripai, and her daughter returning to Chaiya, where Pao scatters Piak’s ashes into the ocean.

The cast includes 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, and Don Ferguson as Diamond Sullivan. The film is the solo directorial debut of Kongkiat Khomsiri, who previously co-directed Art of the Devil 2 and wrote the screenplay for The Unseeable. Director Wisit Sasanatieng served as an uncredited art director on the project. Muay Thai Chaiya premiered as the closing film at the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival and opened widely in Thai cinemas on August 30, 2007.