Developing world cinema is often defined by its focus on social and political issues to the exclusion of anything else. What's interesting about and the Moon Dances is that, while it comments on the feudal nature of Java, its aesthetic qualities are impeccable; the film itself is an object of beauty. There's also a psychological complexity to the work which was new to Indonesian films at that time. Nugroho is as interested in the psychological aspects of his characters as he is the cultural elements of the story.