"The Eagle Huntress" (2016 release from the UK; 87 min.) is a documentary about Aisholpan, a 13 yr. Mongolian girl, and her quest to become the first female eagle huntress. As the movie opens, we are introduced to the wide open spaces of western Mongolia, where eagles have been used for chasing "food and fur" for generations, but until now it was done exclusively by men. We get to know Aisholpan and her family. Her loving and doting dad has noticed his daughter's interest in eagle hunting and, against the better (?) thinking of certain other men in the local community, decides to train her. At this point we're 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of what's about to unfold would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by Otto Bell, whom I've never heard of before. Not that it matters, as Bell and the entire production crew are "embedded" in Ulgii and the surrounding parts of western Mongolia, with seemingly unrestricted access to Aisholpan and her family. What we get is a heart-warming documentary about a young girl's determination (encouraged by a loving dad) to become an eagle huntress. Along the way, we get gorgeous footage of the eagle hunters in action (check out the slo-mo footage--pure eye-candy) but also a fascinating look at what daily life is like in this remote part of the world. And in the end, this is also about girl empowerment, pure and simple. Kudos to Aisholpan's supportive dad (and the rest of the family). When Sia's original song "Angel by the Wings" plays over the end credits (with the most appropriate line "You Can Do Anything"),I dare you to suppress a smile or approving grin.

"The Eagle Huntress" opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at was attended very nicely, somewhat to my surprise (in the best possible way). Seems there may be a demand for this kind of family-friendly documentary with a deeper message that one might expect at first sight. If you love documentaries, you cannot go wrong with this one. "The Eagle Huntress" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Despite the controversy surrounding the legitimacy of this documentary (notably being omitted from the Oscar nominations in its respective category, while still being tipped as a potential front runner), The Eagle Huntress is a decent release that follows the story of (supposedly) the first eagle huntress in Asia, Aisholpan Nurgaiv. Nurgaiv is decidedly keen on entering a local eagle hunting festival at aged 13, before then venturing out into the mountains to become a fully-fledged eagle huntress.

Being an eagle huntress entails training a three-month-old eaglet (after taking it from its nest that is),with the eventual outcome of being able to successfully hunt with it, before letting it go after seven years to complete the "circle of life". 

Undeniably, this is a challenging way of life that requires hard work and years to master. Yet the film portrays Aisholpan in a light that makes it feel like she is rather too conveniently good at the work and that she was always capable of achieving the end goal, thus it struggles to truly resonate when the all-important pinnacle moments arrive. Whilst it is fair to assume Aisholpan possesses some natural talent, we rarely see her fail or train with negative outcomes. Exploring this side would certainly have made the film more relatable, and although Aisholpan is indeed personable, and there are some moments with a heartening timbre, it is unrealistic to think she didn't have much of a challenge in her path towards becoming the first eagle huntress. That is, it is unrealistic to think that there were no other challenges, disregarding the challenge of gender. It is established that eagle hunting is very much a male profession, an aspect battled with constantly throughout the film, which even manages to have comedic impact at times, but unfortunately this gets  increasingly repetitive by the end and is not seen to contribute towards any definitive conclusion. 

That said, it is wonderful to watch Aisholpan and her father endeavour through the magnificent landscapes of Asia, as it is a superbly filmed documentary. This is most definitively one of the film's strongest attributes, as it feels often that it relies very much on nature to tell the story. Arguably it gets away with this, as the story is easy to follow, yet  largely inconsequential; as part of western society, it is pre-determined exactly what we are meant to think about Aisholpan's ambitions. While on the one hand there is an absorbing undertone of female empowerment, there is little else to try and convince us that the conclusion will not be precisely what we expect.

The Eagle Huntress is a visual spectacle, full of emotion yet not as resonant as it  potentially could have been as a short film.

"The Eagle Huntress" is a heartwarming picture...something you really wouldn't expect from a documentary! And, it shows that despite our many differences, many values are universal.

The film is set in rural Mongolia. Fortunately, the narration (Daisy Ridley) is in English and you folks who hate captions won't have to struggle too much! It's the story of a very unusual 13 year-old, as she is working to be the first female ever to compete in trials with her Golden Eagle...and many of her countrymen are dubious about a girl...and a young one at that...having the right to even compete. Fortunately, her family is quite different, as her parents, particularly her father, are immensely proud of her. Seeing and hearing them interact...that was special and the film is both heartwarming and inspiring to know that many of our values and aspirations are universal. Very well made and well worth seeing.