‘Doi Boy’ Netflix Movie Review - A Dreadful Title

Doi Boy is a new Thai film on Netflix about a boy who illegally entered Thailand with hopes of living a good life. Before that, he was a simple monk who was forced by the army to become a soldier. When he had no hopes for the future, he decided to take the big step of going to Thailand. There, he got a job as a sex worker.

The boy was asked to change his name to Sorm. There are many nude scenes in the whole film depicting his work. Sorm’s girlfriend Bee was also a sex worker. They both enjoyed a good personal life. Ji, Sorm’s client at the Doi Boy Club didn’t reveal his identity at the beginning. Then, it becomes known that he is a police officer involved in shady deals with the government.

Wuth, a young boy was actively involved in protests against the Thailand government as they were involved in human trafficking. Ji is asked to eliminate the person but chooses an alternative path.

While the movie was confused about its theme, it will leave the audience thinking about the various things that have been shown. I didn’t understand the development of the character and the inspiration behind it. One thing was clear the characters were constantly navigating to find a purpose and their identity. Be it Wuth, Sorm, Ji, or Bee, they didn’t want to be the person they were and wanted to create a change, but lacked the means to do so.

With a duration of 99 minutes, a lot can be shown, but after seeing Doi Boy, I realized that the time duration of the film has been wasted on showing beautiful lakes and handsome boys. Even though I didn’t like the plot of the movie, it was Wuth’s tattoos that caught my attention. Those beautiful leaves on his left back were attractive. I also like how many scenes were shot like the one in which the focus of the camera was first on the stream of water, and then it slowly faded away and turned into the shadow of leaves and then the leaves with the sun shining in between of them.

There’s nothing that makes Doi Boy worth the time of the audience. Even if the writers wanted to show Sorn’s journey, the main focus was on the lives of the workers. Ji, the police officer’s life could have been an interesting plot rather, it was also skipped. The last 20 or so minutes are blah and so is the rest of this confusing film. For those thinking of watching something entertaining, informative, or adventurous, this isn’t the one. The Thai film is a disappointment that is best left undisturbed.

The cast did a great job of portraying the soul of their characters still, it is their characters who lacked soul and not their job of acting. There’s no thrill or mystery which makes the film a wandering piece.

Final Score – [3/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times