Voice of the Moon
Voice of the Moon
| 01 January 1990 (USA)
Voice of the Moon Trailers

This 30-minute series of images Stanley recorded while he was in Afghanistan in the late 80's with some Mujahadin rebels [and also the late war journalist Carlos Mavroleon (1958-1998), who worked as a producer], follows the people's daily attempts to survive in a country being torn to pieces by the Russian invasion. During the shooting, Stanley also encountered the Taliban. Originally made for UNICEF, the film lacks narration save for a Suti poem. Instead, it is accompanied by Simon Boswell's brilliant score.

Reviews
Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Nonureva Really Surprised!
Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Woodyanders Richard Stanley's strange and experimental 32-minute avant garde documentary about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent formation of the Taliban eschews standard narration in favor of simply presenting the events with a series of oddly lovely and often startling images. Immo Horn's dazzling cinematography offers a wondrous wealth of breathtaking visuals: a white crescent moon in the clear night sky, a bright orange sunset, soldiers fishing in a sparkling blue river, extraordinary sweeping shots of mountainous vistas, armed soldiers marching across the parched desert, soldiers stockpiling weapons, guns, tanks and cannons being fired, and the ruined flaming wreck of a destroyed tank all possess a strong and arresting cumulative power that's impossible to shake. Simon Boswell's beautifully haunting and moody score likewise impresses as well. Essentially a quirky and coolly meditative visual tone poem (in fact, a Surfi poem serves as the sole bit of narration in the entire picture), this singular documentary makes for a very powerful viewing experience.
dav07dan02 Director: Richard Stanley Voice of the Moon is one of a series of documentaries made by South African Richard Stanley. It comes more or less as an extra with two other documentaries in the Dust Devil DVD set. It was made in the late 80's during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan showing the struggles of the people in this war torn country. We are shown the reaction of the people after the defeat of the Soviets. The Taliban was formed during this time and Stanley shows footage of them. This documentary lacks a narration. Consequently, I didn't always know for sure what was going on. What one is seeing is behind the scenes footage of the land and its people set to a beautiful music score.
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