Film Review: ‘Same As It Ever Was’ Is a Poetic Pursuit of a Truth That Never Existed5 min read
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Through interviews and anecdotes, the documentary follows Singaporean superstar director Mengsary Tan unearth the truth about a pandemic that ravaged the world in the 2020s.
Director: Mengsary Tan
Year: 2067
Country: Singapore 2
Language: Common
Runtime: 100 minutes
After his Oscar win for Best Superhero Film in 2059 with Table Man 5, local director Mengsary Tan famously announced in his awards acceptance tweet that he will be abandoning the genre to pursue more “story-driven” narrative features. This decision has proven to be disastrous for his brand, with flop after flop of box office bombs that were completely sapped of his trademark thrills and no-nonsense fun.
Same As It Ever Was, his latest and presumably last film, sees the once-revered superstar director tackle the archaic genre of documentary films. While this genre prides itself for its investigative nature, Same As It Ever Was borders on science fiction with its subject matter. Yet, it is exactly this creative pairing of genres with its over-the-top theme that makes the film both his most exciting and accessible in years, and simply his most thought-provoking satire to date.
Throughout its 100 minute-long runtime, Same As It Ever Was looks to ‘convince’ its audience that a pandemic swept the globe in the 2020s. This Coronavirus disease — renamed as the AMN-ASIA (for its Asian origin) in the outbreak’s later years — first appeared at the turn of the decade and spread at an unprecedented rate. The documentary claims that those infected first developed flu-like symptoms, and would either completely forget that they had it once they recovered or are forgotten if they succumbed to it.
“Like that tacky 2019 movie Yesterday,” Mengsary murmurs and repeats throughout his investigative journey, referencing the obscure film’s premise of a world where The Beatles never existed.
Same As It Ever Was emulates a feature-length vlog. Seen clearly before his daily dose of Soma, the film begins with the distraught director rummaging through a recently acquired collection of vintage local films — all in their obsolete physical forms.
Looking through the films, he finds that a majority of them were either inspired by or referenced the mysterious disease. This spurs Mengsary to track down and interview the crews and casts behind these films, eventually sending him down the rabbit hole of unearthing similar themes in age-old newsreels, stock photos, literature, and physical art.
Same As It Ever Was is very much a love letter to the filmmaking techniques of yesteryear, with minimal use of green screen and digital effects. Through its heavy use of newsreels and stock photos carried by Mengsary’s narration, it is refreshing to see this creative departure on the big screen. The old becomes the new again.
Even if these footages are a far cry from modern expectations, all of them are still frankly awe-inspiring. The film unfailingly bristles with life, with every step of Mengsary’s journey for the truth being coloured by frequent pairings of heart-pounding drums and soaring horns.
On one hand, the claims the director makes can come off as problematic for some and even treasonous for others. For example, he suggests that definitive evidence of AMN-ASIA existing comes with an encyclopedia printed in 2019 noting that the world population is approximately 7 billion — an incredible claim given how it is common knowledge that the population has always been a constant 4 billion.
Similarly, if the fallout of the pandemic had such disastrous effects on society as a whole, wouldn’t there have been a globally concerted effort to solve age-old issues that continue to persist today, such as income inequality and poverty?
Yet through it all, I felt it is exactly within this struggle between concrete facts, Mengsary’s ailing mental state, and the documentary format where the genius of Same As It Ever Was truly shines. Its poetic beauty radiates through its bold and unflinching pursuit of a truth that never existed.
It is through this prism where the film can be seen for what it really is: a sharp satire and glowing support for the preservation of Personal Digital Collections against the efforts of the Cloud Based Consolidations. This is paralleled by how physical media is a central theme of the film and of its inexorable quality in uncovering truths. Hammering home the film’s succinct and bold exploration of themes comes with its heartbreaking conclusion, serving as a definitive exclamation point to Mengsary’s incredulous journey.
Without spoiling the ending too much, it is — dare I say — the most realistic depiction of an arrest ever put on film, with Mengsary’s desperate screams and pleas for help staying with me long after the end credits.
For years, the director’s failed expedition away from the superhero genre grew to be a punchline for many — especially when this move led to the complete withdrawal of funding for his films from both the World Authority and countless sponsors. Same As It Ever Was is a return to form for Mengsary, challenging tried and true conventions — both stylistically and with its themes — to deliver an artistic triumph.
While we might have forgotten about a worldwide pandemic four decades earlier, at least we will always remember this film for its box office success and glowing reviews.
Because nothing ever disappears from the Internet.
Check out the film’s trailer here.
The film is now available on streaming services KuaiLe Eye and Panopticon.
