Summary
While this film has a strong premise, the script felt underdeveloped with aspects that warranted more exploration — this would have made it more powerful and compelling to watch.
Thai director Nontawat Numbenchapol has made many documentaries centered around human rights, prostitution, border conflicts, and ethnicity, and that’s no different in his first feature action film, Doi Boy on Netflix. The film has been developed over five years, with the script growing and changing, reflecting what is happening in society — but yet it still felt underdeveloped, under-explored, and rushed.
The film tells the story of three young men, who are illegal immigrants from Myanmar, living on the margins of society in Thailand. All have a common quest for justice. One heterosexual man, Sorn, builds a new identity as a sex worker and gets caught up in a client’s risky scheme, which if pulled off, could lead him to a better life.
Doi Boy review and plot summary
This film has a strong and powerful premise, and at times the plot does well to take on many social and political problems Thailand has faced in recent years. These include undocumented workers, the sex trade, illegal immigrants fleeing Myanmar, oppression, police brutality, and political unrest. However, these are so subtly done and not deeply explored, that the film could have done well to pick one topic and run with it.
However, the topic of immigrant men, from Myanmar’s Shan region, having to become sex workers in Chiang Mai as they’re undocumented and need money is harrowing and surprising. I was unaware of this situation and almost blown away by the realization that this is happening in a place sold as idyllic and a backpacker’s paradise.
The film toys with the idea that we all start out with a dream, and experience the slow, inevitable death of that dream. Here, the dream cannot come to fruition because the social situations hold Sorn back. Audiences watch as he clings to his identity through the lives of others, and he slowly accepts his fate.
I felt let down by the acting — it was bland and underplayed at times, and I wanted to see more emotion to feel the true anguish these boys were going through. If it weren’t for how the film was shot, with beautiful, colorful, well-lit scenes, I would have become bored quicker. There’s a powerful and emotional scene between the three in the woods, towards the end, and this was gut-wrenching.
Is Doi Boy worth watching?
With a sad, yet bland ending, I so wanted to like this film, but instead was left cold and unfulfilled.
At a short runtime of one hour and thirty-nine minutes, I would advise you to invest your time in watching this film — it is excellently shot, with a powerful, dark, honest story. However, the director’s documentaries might be his strong suit, as there are times when the plot will feel weak, and underdeveloped, and there are parts that warrant more exploration.
What did you think of Doi Boy on Netflix? Comment below.
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