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Hurts Like Hell, Netflix's latest docu-series, is an interesting insight into what goes on in the world of Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand. Based on true incidents, the series brings us a harrowing picture of the world of Muay Thai, fraught with corruption and gambling.
Divided into four episodes, the Netflix series brings us a unique style of storytelling that involves both documentary-style narratives and dramatization of incidents narrated by viewers. The docu-drama is directed by acclaimed director Kittichai Wanprasert, from a script written by Siwat Decharat.
The truth in Hurts Like Hell
The dramatization of the narratives in the docu-drama may raise questions regarding the credibility of the truth behind what is being shown on screen. Discarding the use of documentary style of monotonous interviews, Hurts Like Hell instead chooses to dramatize the narrative.
Including actors with dialogs to act out the events, the Netflix series cuts through interviews of real people involved in Muay Thai, with dramatizations of the events. This makes the series much more engaging for viewers. From finely choreographed fight scenes to tactful use of the camera and lighting, Hurts Like Hell brings to the audience a whole new documentary viewing experience.
Thus, the series is an absolutely true telling of the world of Muay Thai as seen through the perspectives of gamblers, boxers, coaches, referees, promoters, club owners and ring physicians. The series provides a multi-perspective story of how corruption operates in the dark underbelly of the national sport of Thailand.
Where are the events taken from?
At the end of the series, in the last episode, we see a montage of archival recordings. This collection of clips summarizes the true events that were dramatized in the four episodes of the docu-drama. The series mainly follows two events. Although seemingly separate, the two stories merge into one to bring to us the seedy underbelly of Muay Thai.
One is the story of Phat, a gambler who lost his life when he got himself involved with big players, and the other story is of a 12-year-old destitute boy who sought out kick-boxing to satiate his need for money which would bring him and his mother freedom from his tyrannical and abusive father.
Both are very real incidents, narrated by the interviewees of Hurts Like Hell who are associated in different capacities with the revered sport of Muay Thai. They also share their own reckonings with the corrupt practices of the kick-boxing sport, how they found themselves involved in it and their own contentions with the corruption that Muay Thai is filled with. There is ample evidence that the Netflix docu-series is more than a dramtization. It is based on true incidents.
Hurts Like Hell is an eye-opening docu-drama that takes us right to the heart of corrupt practices like gambling, match fixing, drugging and bribery that the national sport of Thailand is rife with. Catch the series today on Netflix to find out more about what goes on behind the seemingly respectable kick-boxing sport of Muay Thai.
