Smile & Wave (2003)

Dutch soldiers on a peace mission in post-war Afghanistan are confronted with a surrealist landscape where violence, hatred and fundamentalism still smoulder directly under the surface. The young Dutch soldiers are advised that their job mainly consists of inspiring confidence in the local population: smile & wave is the motto. The film reveals the bewildering, sometimes bizarre reality in which these people have to perform their task. Trained to fight, they operate as town guards.