Same Same But Different

Sporadically intriguing yet mostly underwhelming, Same Same But Different follows a German tourist (David Kross’ Ben) as he finds himself falling for a friendly prostitute (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk’s Sreykeo) while on vacation in Cambodia – with the bulk of the proceedings subsequently detailing the couple’s inherent difficulties at sustaining a relationship (as well as the problems that ensue after it’s revealed that Sreykeo has contracted HIV). There’s little doubt that Same Same But Different‘s initial difficulties in luring the viewer into the storyline stem primarily from one’s ongoing efforts at deciphering Sakuljaroensuk’s dialogue, as the actress’ almost unreasonably heavy accent, coupled with her penchant for speaking in broken English, renders much of her speech unintelligible and ensures that one is generally only able to follow the story in broad strokes. Beyond that, however, the novelty of the movie’s locale can only carry it so far – after which point the aimless narrative and hopelessly bland characters slowly but surely infuse the proceedings with a relatively oppressive sort of vibe. This is despite the inclusion of a few admittedly intriguing stretches (eg Ben returns to Germany to procure medicine for Sreykeo) and Detlev Buck’s impressive directorial choices, with such positive attributes eventually rendered moot by the tedious and needlessly melodramatic nature of the movie’s third act (eg the dreaded fake break-up makes an appearance). Screenwriter Ruth Toma’s failure to give the viewer any solid reasons to care about Ben and Sreykeo’s plight ultimately cements Same Same But Different‘s failure, although some folks might be more willing to overlook the movie’s deficiencies based solely on its impressive visuals.

** out of ****