The Iron Ladies (film)

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The Iron Ladies
DVD cover.
Directed by	Youngyooth Thongkonthun
Written by	Visuttchai Boonyakarnjawa Jira Maligool Youngyooth Thongkonthun
Starring	Jesdaporn Pholdee Sahaphap Tor, Ekachai Buranapanit Giorgio Maiocchi Chaicharn Nimpulsawasdi Kokkorn Benjathikoon Shiriohana Hongsopon
Cinematography	Jira Maligool
Editing by	Sunij Asavinikul
Distributed by	Tai Entertainment
Release date(s)	March 8, 2000
Running time	104 min.
Country	Thailand
Language	Thai
Followed by	Satree lek 2
IMDb profile

The Iron Ladies (Thai: สตรีเหล็ก or Satree lek) is a Thai comedy film from the year 2000. The movie follows the true events of a men's volleyball team, comprised mainly of transvestites, transsexuals and homosexuals. The movie was directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun and written by Visuttchai Boonyakarnjawa and Jira Maligool.

A hit in Thailand as well as the international film festival circuit, the film has been nominated 12 times and won 10 awards, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards, Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. It also played at the Pusan International Film Festival, the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

In 2003, the combined sequel and prequel called Satree lek 2 [1] was released. The film is based upon how the characters of The Iron Ladies met, and how they would later reunite for another vollyball tournament.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film is set in 1996, when the real team competed and won the national championships in Thailand. The two main characters, Mon and Jung, play two gay transvestites, who had been constantly overlooked by volleyball coaches because of their appearance. However, when a local team changes coaches, the new coach holds tryouts for a new team. When Mon and Jung are selected, most of the old players resign, leaving the new coach, Coach Bee, in a sticky predicament.

Mon and Jung are then forced to enlist the help of other gay and transsexual friends who they used to play volleyball with in university. These new players include Wit, who hasn't told his fiance he is gay, Pia, a transexual dancer and Nong, a gay army officer. When the competition begins, all but one player in the team are gay or transsexual.

Because of their appearance on court, many of the match officials intend to ban the team, soon dubbed "The Iron Ladies", from the tournament. However, seeing how much the team is liked by the crowd soon changes many of their opinions.

At the end credits of the film, the real "Iron Ladies" are shown as they were at the time of making the film.