The Land of the Enlightened

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2:59

The Land of the Enlightened

2016

1h 23m

Documentary

Drama

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

As Americans occupy their country, young Afghans dig up old Soviet mines to sell the explosives to other children.

Tara Brady

Irish Times

12/28/2016

3/5

It's remarkable that the film was made at all. If only it had been made a little better.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

10/10/2016

2/5

Made over seven years, The Land of the Enlightened is an earnest, if woolly headed, docudrama from the Belgian photographer Pieter-Jan De Pue.

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

09/09/2016

4/5

Possibly the only film in which you can witness a tube of lapis lazuli being rammed up a donkey's arse.

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Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

01/18/2023

By about the 15th David Lean-esque wide shot of tiny trains of horses and caravans against the epic landscape, I wanted to scream.

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Curtis Cook

Willamette Week

02/08/2017

2/4

This is a visually stunning film that raises questions about what's next for Afghanistan, but the lack of a cohesive narrative makes it hard to care.

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Ali Catterall

Total Film

12/28/2016

5/5

A unique, stunning window to an extreme world.

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01/24/2019

Don't expect a simple narrative. Rather different perspectives of Afghan istan, but mostly through the eyes of children, acting like adults.

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04/11/2018

a very unusual, unsettling yet beautiful film. raises more question than answers but it would be wrong for a film to give answers to such a complex subject

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12/11/2016

Style in abundance and interesting contrast between realities, but the films ambitions are blown out of proportion considering it overall lack of engagement.

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Pieter-Jan De Pue

Director

Sohrab Nazari

Narrator

Marina Golbahari

Actor

Pieter-Jan De Pue

Writer

David Dusa

Writer

Morgan Bushe

Executive Producer

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The Land of the Enlightened: Trailer 1

2:59

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Synopsis

As Americans occupy their country, young Afghans dig up old Soviet mines to sell the explosives to other children.

Director: Pieter-Jan De Pue
Producer: Bart Van Langendonck
Screenwriter: Pieter-Jan De Pue, David Dusa
Genre: Documentary, Drama, War
Original Language: Persian
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 4, 2017
Runtime: 1h 23m