Two months ago, I wrote about two Malaysian/Malay movies the trailer to which came out around the same time. The trailers looked rather hopeful so I made a point to catch both at the cinema.
I'm going to start this review with the one that came out earlier, and also the disappointing one of the two; Lelaki Harapan Dunia, written and directed by Seng Tat Liew. Yep, I said it outright. It's disappointing.
The movie tells the story of a group of villagers who want to relocate an abandoned house mainly due to the wish of Pak Awang who wants the house for his daughter's wedding, when a number of peculiar incidents take place which they attribute to supernatural reasons due to them moving the house. Unbeknownst to them, an African man who's a fugitive from the law has taken refuge in the house.
Sounds like a horror movie right? Or is it a comedy? Or is it drama? Therein lies the problem with Lelaki Harapan Dunia, or its English title Men Who Save the World. The movie tries to be all, without really succeeding to be any. Plot-wise there are also so many threads in it, but most of them are not really resolved by the end of the movie. They are merely teased and repeatedly brought to the fore, but no further explanation is given.
What's with the village idiot/druggie? Why is Pak Awang so insistent on refurbishing the house for his daughter's wedding? And what does he mean by his wistful remark on her getting married out of love? What about the subplot with the price of the camel intended for slaughter? By the end of the movie, these are all not solved. Even the main story is left kind of hanging.
Now that's out of the way, let's talk about the better one, Terbaik Dari Langit which I just watched two days ago. The movie, titled Nova in English, tells the story of Berg (Bront Palarae), a movie director whose obsession with the extraterrestrial and UFO impels him to ask his former school friends to come make an experimental road movie. His friends are up and coming movie star and soon-to-be-married, driver and production technician Ali, and socially-awkward school teacher Toyu. Also in tow is actress Sofea Jane (no, not the real-life actress). His plan involves travelling in a van to shoot the earlier scenes, culminating in shooting the finale at a place where Berg is confident an UFO landing is going to take place. Along the way, they reminisce about their school days and bicker about old grudges, form romance, and criticise Berg's dodgy directing.
Unlike Men, Nova handles multiple subplots better. They don't distract from the main story, and it explains the dynamics of the four school buddies in a non-intrusive way. Furthermore, Langit benefits from a steadier pair of hands in the director's chair, so even if it is funny at times, it never loses track of things.
Another aspect I enjoy about Langit, all the actors AND their characters are used well. The acting is good although nothing to shout about, but most importantly all the characters are well-rounded. Even the comic-reliefs have depth to them. The perpetually nervous Toyu hides a story behind his anxiety at being around them, Sofea is a more significant role than just a pretty face and romantic interest to one of them, the movie star doesn't feel like just another asshole, and Berg's eccentric nature and single-minded obsession is also explained. Furthermore, the young actors portraying the younger version of the leads also look rather similar to their older counterparts, and can act too in the flashback scenes. There are also cameo roles by the late Jalan Ampas era legend Aziz Sattar, and Sharifah Amani.
And in addition to this, this movie is very self-aware and when it comes to the nature of movie-making in Malaysia, taking potshots at Islamic-themed movies that are quite popular at the moment, and the average Malay (Malaysian) audience's reception to movies.
My only gripe about it is the music by the band Pitahati, which is very good, but I think somewhat under-utilised. I wanted more.
I give Lelaki Harapan Dunia 5.5/10 and Terbaik Dari Langit 7/10.
