A Prayer Before Dawn – Muay Thai Martial Arts Movie Review

A Prayer Before Dawn by distributor A24 is not your father’s Jean-Claude Van Damme film. If you’re looking for non-stop Muay Thai action with a big bad boss at the end then watch Kickboxer. If you are down for a dark, gritty, true-life story about survival in one of the most horrific prisons in the world with a healthy dose of savage martial arts then look no further than this film. Enjoy Puncher’s A Prayer Before Dawn Movie Review.

A Prayer Before Dawn is based on the memoir of English boxer Billy Moore who was incarcerated in maximum-security slammer Klong Prem, aka the Bangkok Hilton, one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons. After surviving near-death encounters with the prison’s violent gangs and fighting to stay clean of Ya ba, methamphetamine, Billy joins the prison’s Muay Thai team and is given the opportunity to fight for better conditions and possibly his freedom.

What follows is a fantastic movie about the unbelievably unique and controversial Thai tradition of prison boxing and fighting for your freedom told through the lens of a foreigner.

This film goes where many movies don’t dare to take you. A Prayer Before Dawn is not for the squeamish. Nothing is off limits for the filmmaker as he accurately portrays life in a Thai prison including scenes of death, self-mutilation and rape. Also, much of the film is in Thai and not subtitled which compounds its’ claustrophobic nature.

Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole delivers a masterful and unrestrained performance in his role as a speed-addicted, tortured ex-patriot, subjected to unimaginable horrors. His intense but nuanced performance reminds me of a young Tom Hardy. He also puts on serious muscle for the role and you believe he can throw a punch.

The fighting in A Prayer Before Dawn is more realistic than most boxing or MMA films. Director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire captures the intimate dance that is Muay Thai perfectly. When Billy is in the ring or training on the heavy bag you feel as if you are in there with him. There are no lights, few crowd reaction shots, nothing to distract from the visceral sight of the two combatants fighting for their lives. The sound design adds to the realism by accurately capturing the sound of a shin or boxing glove striking flesh. There’s no swelling, inspirational Rocky soundtrack or “Eye of the Tiger” just the sounds of prison and pads, muscle and bone making contact.

Shot in a gritty, visceral style with lots of handheld camera work, it feels like you are right inside the cell, the ring and the cinch with Billy. A Prayer Before Dawn could go down as one of the most realistic prison movies of all time having been filmed in Thailand’s Nakhon Pathon prison with a cast made up primarily of inmates. Judging from their looks and countless facial tattoos many are serving life without parole.

Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand and most Thai kickboxing films don’t do it justice. A Prayer Before Dawn does, showcasing the tradition and violence as well it’s importance and place of honor in Thai society, even in a maximum-security prison.

The cast is round out with Olympic gold medalist and Muay Thai champion Somlock Kamsing playing the prison team’s coach. The drills are what you would find in Tiger Muay Thai’s camp or any traditional Muay Thai school. The training and combat is legit.

In real life, Billy served 3 years in Thai prison before being transferred to a UK prison and eventually released on amnesty by the King of Thailand in October 2010. Since his release from prison, Billy has devoted his life to working with addicts and fighting for his own recovery from drug abuse. A Prayer Before Dawn is his first book. If you are interested in reading it you can buy it here.

If you train in Muay Thai or have an interest in the national sport of Thailand then A Prayer Before Dawn is a must watch. Stream it now on Amazon and iTunes.

To learn more about Muay Thai, its history and the current state of the sport check out Puncher’s “What is Muay Thai” article and to find out which celebrities train in Muay Thai check out “10 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Trained in Martial Arts.”

To learn more about the history and practice of martial arts check out the other articles in the Puncher “What is” series on Judo, Boxing, Karate, Taekwondo, Sambo, MMA and more.

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