Men Who Save the World

Cast

Production

Liew developed Lelaki Harapan Dunia at the Cannes Director’s Residence — Cinéfondation and participated at the 2011 Sundance Screenwriters Lab. The film was shot in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. Lelaki Harapan Dunia was supposed to be Liew’s debut feature film but he ended up shelving it and making Flower in the Pocket first. The critical success of Liew’s debut paved the way for him to receive grants from all over the world for Lelaki Harapan Dunia.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 67th Locarno International Film Festival on 6 August 2014. Its North American premier was held at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 4 September 2014. The film was released in Malaysia on 27 November 2014.

Critical reception

The film got mixed reviews with praise for the humour and stunning cinematography. Critics were also more focused on the issue of the absence of actresses, homosexuality and racism that exists in this film. Kamran Ahmed of entertainment portal Nextprojection.com in describing the film," It’s an extreme and exaggerated form of humour that works well to make certain ironic or sardonic remarks...". Shelly Kraicer of film portal Cinema-scope.com reviewed this film as "... sets out to be a boisterous comedy of rural cross-dressing and ghostly hauntings, but it has fascinating, somewhat disguised undercurrents suggesting something more serious." Jenna Hossack of dorkshelf.com entertainment portal also provides two words to describe this film, namely "Vibrant and funny". Shane Scott-Travis of entertainment portal vivascene.com give 4 out of 5 stars for this movie. Muzaffar Mustafa from Astro Awani also praised "... among the best films of in aspects of production, both in terms of art direction and cinematography." Irvan Syed Syed Mahdi of Utusan Malaysia praised the film directing and cinematography. Hassan Abd Al-Muttalib from the same newspaper also commented of the film being " a continuation of the early Malaysian cinema". K. Anand of the news portal The Malaysian Insider loomed on the film as "the best local film this year and among the best films of the decade."

Jay Weissberg of Variety criticised the film for playing with issues of homosexuality and racism. "This ultra-light comedy about an apparently haunted house in the jungle is loaded with racially problematic scenes and homophobic gags, plus barely one line is uttered by the marginalized female characters." he stated. Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "From ridiculing superstitious villagers to stereotyping Africans and completely sidelining women, Liew’s film barrels ahead with barely a clue. His puerile script leads the well-known Malaysian cast members pointlessly astray and returns little on the clearly significant effort required to move the house and shoot extensive footage in the depths of the jungle." Mark Adams of Screen Daily questioned the absence of actresses in this film. Nazim Masnawi of news portal Malaysiakini observes the film imitating the style of Mamat Khalid's early films but whereas Mamat "still gives sympathy to his character line-up", Liew is "really brutal with his satire". Aidil Rusli of The Star notes of this movie as being filled with potential yet that can not be translated properly.

Accolades

Lelaki Harapan Dunia swept five awards among other fourteen categories nominated including the prestigious Best Picture and Best Director awards in 27th Malaysian Film Festival.