Review: The Adventure of Iron Pussy

• Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Michael Shaowanasai.
• Starring Michael Shaowanasai, Krissida Terrence.
• Released on DVD (region 3 with English subtitles)
• Rating: 5/5

The Adventure of Iron Pussy is many things. It's a spoof of James Bond films. It's a transgendered comedy. It's a musical. It's also an homage to Thai films of the 1960s and '70s.

Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, on a break from his more cerebral Tropical Malady, and co-directed by the star, Michael Shaowanasai, Iron Pussy is the story of a transvestite Thai secret agent.

While not on duty, Iron Pussy is a man, a shopclerk working in a 7 Eleven. His missions are relayed to him by shadowy characters who come in the shop to pay their phone bills. When the billing info is keyed into the system, details of Iron Pussy's next mission come up.

In the film, the mission involves some shady goings-on at a socialite's garishly lavish, castle-like mansion. Tasked personally by Prime Minister Thaksin and the cabinet (supplied by a comedy group of impersonators), Iron Pussy is sent off to crack the case, after some hilarious song and dance antics with the PM and his cabinet.

To get into the mansion, Pussy must pose as a maid. There, she catches the eye of the scion of the rich socialite's son (Krissada Terrance), cheesy in a fake pencil mustache and clothes off the rack of a vintage shop or Goodwill store.

Through a campy sequence of costume changes, stunts and musical numbers, Pussy finds out that some kind of mind-altering wonder drug is being produced, so she must stop it.

Of course, there are a few other weird, implausible twists and turns here and there, making the movie a satire of Thai melodramas and action films of years past.

What makes the film effective is that all the voices are dubbed by top voice actors, people who do radio dramas and record Thai soundtracks for Western films. When Iron Pussy is a man, the voice is a deep, smooth baritone. But when she's a woman, it's a lyrically high-pitched voice that really shines on the musical numbers.

The settings and stunts are all very obviously staged and played strictly for camp effect. I had a big smile on my face from the opening scene, which introduces Iron Pussy as a super-hero protector of women and the elderly. She shows up at an outdoor food stall, run by an old man and his pretty young daughter, where some gangsters are being uncouth. Some well-place kicks by Iron Pussy takes care of them.

The "film" was shot digitally and in the presentation at the theater, the relatively low-res projection made the film seem grainy, giving it an even more low-budget feel. It's as if the film was being viewed in an outdoor setting, on sheet in the village market - a common form of entertainment in rural villages. For the uninitiated or close-minded it might seem unprofessional, but I think this is the effect that Apichatpong was going for.