The Land of the Enlightened – Film Review by Frank L

Directed by Pieter-Jan de Pue
Writers: Pieter-Jan De Pue (script), David Dusa (script)
Stars: Gholam Nasir, Khyrgyz Baj, Noor

This is described as a creative documentary. It is set in Afghanistan and was made over seven years. The story it tells is of the children of a society who adapt to the hostile circumstances which surround them. The location is the Pamir mountainous range in Afghanistan, a terrain which is harsh and unforgiving. A group of kids in a gang salvage old Russian ordnance explosives which they sell to those involved in the mining of valuable lapis lazuli. But as there is no operational civil authority the law of force is what rules.  The child gang is therefore able to attack a caravan transporting the mined lapis lazuli. So called “overseeing” this dysfunctional world are American troops who are embattled in their compounds. They are no part of the indigenous community.

While the terrain of Afghanistan is unremittingly harsh, it is also stunningly beautiful. De Pue’s children have created an ability to adapt to this landscape and its unwanted invaders. It is an extraordinary mix. The children dream about a time when the American troops are gone from their land. De Pue explains why in their mythology the natives have such a deep distrust of outsiders. No amount of Western technology, military force or expertise can conquer it. De Pue’s children have at times all the exuberance of childhood, unencumbered by literacy, as they create the means by which they survive which is their driving force. Their lives are completely intertwined with the stony land, its crops of poppies, its lapis lazuli minerals and the detritus of invaders.

What De Pue has created is a film which underlines the independence of Afghanistan youth. Their land on the roof of the world is not easily accessible and they wish to keep it for themselves. The landscape is mesmerizingly beautiful. Given its inhabitants’ history it is difficult to imagine how Afghanistan can be governed as outsiders do not and never have understood it. De Pue in telling his story about the youth of Afghanistan brings to the attention of outsiders the complexities of Afghanistan society. It is an important contribution to a land which to outsiders remains incomprehensible.