Title: Same Same But Different
Country: Germany, Cambodia (2009)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Director: Detlev Buck
Cast: David Kross, Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Anatole Taubman
Plot
After finishing school, Ben (David Kross) and his friend travel to Cambodia not only for the country and its people but also for parties, drugs and sex. One night he meets Sreykeo (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk), a young cambodian girl. After spending the night with her it turns out that Sreykeo, like many others, is a prositute. Although they separate the next morning, Sreykeo returns some days later and so they start seeing each other more often. Ben more and more gets introduced to the cambodian life, meets Sreykeo’s family and starts paying for food and medicine. However at some point Ben has to return to Germany. But both try to maintain their relationship via telephone or internet. Ben even sends Sreykeo money so that she doens’t have to work as prostitute anymore. The situation changes when Sreykeo receives the news that she is HIV positive.She immediately tells Ben who takes the situation much more serious and travels back to Asia in order to organize a therapy for her. In the course of the time he learns that the cambodian system works differently from the german one and that he finally has to decide between love and duty…
Review
Director Detlev Buck intended to make a romantic movie, however not one of those cheesy romantic comedies which you find in cinemas in great numbers. He wanted to create a story about a real, tangible love. So he decided to film the life story of Benjamin Prüfer who wrote his true story in the book “Wohin du auch gehst”. Detlev Buck actually succeeds. The story is far from typical clichés and works because David Kross (Der Vorleser) really gives a great performance especially in combination with the great Apinya Sakuljaroensuk who harmonizes perfectly with Kross. Same Same But Different isn’t a sentimental AIDS drama. The decease does play a role, especially for dramatic reasons, but it doesn’t dominate the story. The movie is more a romantic story about an unconditional love, in which one person is infected with HIV. The problems of both of them are versatile: the cultural difference, the distance, the little money and of course Ben’s fear that Sreykeo works as prostitute again while he is in Germany. The movie is so special because the protagoniste are totally authentic including all of their actions, the chemistry between the two protagonists is not deniable and additionally you get a realistic view of cambodian life and its culture. And althoug the story is about a serious problem the movie constantly is sort of light and pleasant to watch. Concluding you can say that Detlev Buck created a real, heart-warming love story free from kitsch and clishés.
