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The Land of the Enlightened

  • 20162016
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
621
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
The Land of the Enlightened (2016)
Trailer for The Land of the Enlightened
Play trailer2:51
1 Video
4 Photos
  • Documentary
  • Drama
  • War
A gang of Afghan kids from the Kuchi tribe dig out old Soviet mines and sell the explosives to children working in a lapis lazuli mine. When not dreaming of the time when American troops fin... Read allA gang of Afghan kids from the Kuchi tribe dig out old Soviet mines and sell the explosives to children working in a lapis lazuli mine. When not dreaming of the time when American troops finally withdraw from their land, another gang of children keeps tight control on the caravan... Read allA gang of Afghan kids from the Kuchi tribe dig out old Soviet mines and sell the explosives to children working in a lapis lazuli mine. When not dreaming of the time when American troops finally withdraw from their land, another gang of children keeps tight control on the caravans smuggling the blue gemstones through the arid mountains of Pamir.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
621
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Pieter-Jan De Pue
  • Writers
    • Pieter-Jan De Pue(script)
    • David Dusa(script)
    • Herwig Deweerdt(voice)
  • Stars
    • Gholam Nasir
    • Khyrgyz Baj
    • Noor
Top credits
  • Director
    • Pieter-Jan De Pue
  • Writers
    • Pieter-Jan De Pue(script)
    • David Dusa(script)
    • Herwig Deweerdt(voice)
  • Stars
    • Gholam Nasir
    • Khyrgyz Baj
    • Noor
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 6User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 13 nominations

    Videos1

    The Land of the Enlightened
    Trailer 2:51
    The Land of the Enlightened

    Photos

    The Land of the Enlightened (2016)
    The Land of the Enlightened (2016)
    The Land of the Enlightened (2016)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gholam Nasir
    Khyrgyz Baj
    Noor
    Zulfu
    Koko Ewas
    Koko Mullalih
    Marina Golbahari
    Marina Golbahari
    Sergei Kovinchenko
    • Selfas Self
    Devin A. Cleeves
    • US Soldieras US Soldier
    Sohrab Nazari
    • Narratoras Narrator
    • Director
      • Pieter-Jan De Pue
    • Writers
      • Pieter-Jan De Pue(script)
      • David Dusa(script)
      • Herwig Deweerdt(voice)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Soundtracks
      Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
      Written by Roger Waters

      Published by Westminster Music Ltd./Essex Music

      Performed by Pink Floyd

      (P) 1968 Pink Floyd Music Ltd under exclusive license to Parlophone Records Ltd @Warner Music Group Company

    User reviews6

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    A disjointed collection of footage combined with a weak narrative.
    This film is very effective in conveying the harsh beauty of Afghanistan, using sweeping or time-lapsed shots of the barren landscape and mountain ranges. It also shows the people of these remote regions and some of their daily activities, and it paints a powerful picture of a country scarred by war.

    The narrative, if you would call it that, is about a few groups of children who live as bands of robbers and miners. Their stories are obviously fictional and fantastic. Interspersed with scenes with the children is footage of US and Afghan soldiers, some of it actual combat footage. The scenes with military personnel are undoubtedly not staged, but cut in a way that they loosely fit the film. A few scenes are played by actors portraying soldiers.

    Initially, I was mesmerized by the images of the landscape and people. But as the movie dragged on, there was very little I could relate to story-wise. It all seemed very random to me, a collection of scenes with no real direction or cohesion. Sure, one of the children has a dream he is pursuing, but to me that was not enough to carry the film.

    I should think that the real stories of the people in the film are probably much more interesting and worth telling. The kids looked like they had fun acting though.

    Apparently this took seven years to make. Since the actors did not age at all during the story, I would say six years worth of collected footage was combined with a weak narrative shot in a few months, to warrant a theatrical release. Interesting but it lacked substance.
    helpful•8
    4
    • j-m-d-b
    • Apr 12, 2016

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 16, 2016 (Belgium)
    • Countries of origin
      • Belgium
      • Ireland
      • Netherlands
      • Germany
      • Afghanistan
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Belgium)
    • Languages
      • Persian
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Zemlja prosvetljenih
    • Production companies
      • Savage Film
      • Fastnet Films
      • Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • €1,220,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $609
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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