Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

mkaliher This exceptional film quite caught me by surprise. For some reason, I assumed its focus would be on spirituality -- and it is, but not in the manner I anticipated. What some reviewers have criticized as separate, disjointed narratives colliding with each other may be valid, yet that's the film's genius, I think. Rather than an omniscient narrator drily explaining each situation, the directors largely let the material speak for itself, with minimal intrusion. The character of the separate narratives may be best presented in this way, and most accurately reflect the experience of composing a film on Afghanistan. The result is rather like a well-presented book of diaries of some common experience, in which the editor provides only minimal background information, letting the material speak for itself. It's a refreshing and revealing approach which works quite well, in my opinion. And it's certainly the best film I've seen on Afghanistan.

anadena-28348 In the documentary In The Land of the Enlightened two worlds collide visually, technically and spiritually. This is a hybrid documentary, meaning some shots were staged while others focus on the environment of Afghanistan and its people through an observational style. The cast, if you may call it that, are all real people. Some of the action scenes are rehearsed and others are presented as they happen. The blur between fiction and non-fiction is intentional, as Belgium Director and Photographer Pieter-Jan De Pue takes on a non-traditional view of how to craft a true story, with imagines elements that respond to a lived experience of Afghanistan, rather than real-life depictions. Shot over seven years, the documentary focuses on the lives of a group of children who are also fighters. Their lives are all about survival and war in the mountains of Afghanistan. Read more here: https://indieethos.com/2016/09/02/in-the-land-of-the- enlightened/

Ruben Mooijman This film is amazing. From the first minute, I was gripped by the incredibly desolate Afghan landscape, by the otherworldliness of the scenes, which are beautiful and bizarre at the same time, and by the way Afghanistan is shown: torn apart by war and violence.Belgian director Pieter-Jan De Pue has made this film in a semi-documentary style. He documents the lives of a gang of teenage boys, living in a yurt high in the Pamir mountains. They make a living by robbing or supporting passing camel caravans, whichever pays best.When the film progresses, you realize that most of it must be fictional, but that doesn't really matter. It's the visual way De Pue tells the story of this country that counts. He contrasts the scenes of the boys with footage of American soldiers shooting and bombing the nearby villages. These scenes are clearly not fictional, they are the result of De Pues short assignment as an embedded photographer.The real challenge must have been to edit all the material, in order to make a coherent movie. The director uses old tales, told by a voice-over, to create a fairytale-like atmosphere. But the reality contrasts in a spectacular way with these old tales. One very telling scene shows an American officer, holding a passionate speech for a group of local men, with the help of an interpreter. We have made your area safer, he tells them, and it will remain safe if you help us. Are you willing to do that, yes or no? All he gets for an answer is complete silence.De Pue has put his heart and soul into this film, and has risked his life making it. But it has paid off. This is a film that leaves you gaping in amazement, and in admiration for the effort he has put into it.

Cinefill1 -In this seamless blend of fictional and documentary form, we experience a stunning cinematic journey into the beauty of war-tormented Afghanistan. Shot over seven years on evocative 16mm footage, first-time director Pieter-Jan De Pue paints a whimsical yet haunting look at the condition of Afghanistan left for the next generation. As American soldiers prepare to leave, we follow De Pue deep into this hidden land where young boys form wild gangs to control trade routes, sell explosives from mines left over from war, and climb rusting tanks as playgrounds-making the new rules of war based on the harsh landscape left to them. De Pue's transportative and wonderfully crafted film confronts the visceral beauty and roughness of survival, serving as a testament to the spirited innovation of childhood and the extreme resilience of a people and country. - Sundance Film Festival Credits ***The fact that it took 7 years in order to film this documentary explains many why this documentary went so much higher than the initial budjet, but that a great deal of money would be assumed for the images showed raises objection.***