Hurts Like Hell

7,5 / 10

An intriguing limited series which examines the current state of Thailand’s national sport Muay Thai and utilizes real events to portray multiple angles of two significant fights over the course of four episodes. Each 50 minute-long episode focuses on one piece of an evil equation: The gamblers who are also called “boxing gurus”, the referee with the judges, the essential fighters and their families. In order to give the viewer a firsthand experience of what it’s like to be inside a boxing arena, director Kittichai Wanprasert goes for a blend of sports drama and documentary by implementing interview bits from renowned boxing trainers, referees and fighters.

What’s really astounding is the immersion which Wanprasert creates for one of the involved parties. For example, the first episode observes the gambling mechanics, the backbone of a Muay Thai match. With great detail, the meaning of each well-choreographed round is described and even a hierarchy between the gurus themselves gets introduced. The camera and the editing accurately conveys the eyes and mindset of a gambler by treating the fighters like objects and show their aggressive cheering due to the amount of money they put on the man in the blue or red corner. This cinematographic approach is also utilized for the following two episodes when the focus changes while the last episode takes a look at the affected families of the boxers and delves a bit into sentimental territory, but also gives an outlook into the future of the national sport. It’s a vicious cycle of poverty, cockfighting, reckless trainers, total control from the “boxing gurus” and the lack of regulations from the Thai government.

The first two episodes are also a great example of how to present two different perspectives of the same fight. Unlike Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel – which basically rewound its story two times – the series shows a great amount of new information about the involved referees and boxers which not only adjusts the emotional stakes, but also the implications of the fight’s outcome. Although some aspects about the dark side of corruption and gambling can be predicted, it’s because we can see current counterparts in other sports: The owner of the Miami Dolphins bribing the former head coach Brian Flores with 100.000$ to lose games for a better NFL Draft, high bets on amateur games in soccer and even classic boxing as the IBA is no longer allowed to host the Olympic qualifiers and the tournament itself at the Paris 2024 games. Hurts Like Hell presents a dilemma of unhinged sports betting in combination with the fates of the fighters and families inside and outside of the squared circle and makes room for thoughts concerning the rising presence of betting providers in the most popular sports leagues of the West.

Review published on 23rd July 2022.