The Eagle Huntress
The Eagle Huntress
G | 02 November 2016 (USA)
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Follow Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.

Reviews
WasAnnon

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Nonureva

Really Surprised!

AshUnow

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

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Geraldine

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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lasttimeisaw

An BAFTA nominated documentary tells the crowd-pleasing story of a 13-year-old Kazakh girl Aisholpan who contends for becoming an eagle hunter (reckoned as a man's vocation) through the help of her hunter father Rys Nurgaiv. Narrated by Daisy Ridley, the film opens with the grandiose landscape of Altai Mountains with a prefatory ceremony of releasing an eagle to its natural habitat after serving a seven-year training stint (a ritual abided by all the eagle hunters in the light of their reverence to the nature and the species), then dwells on the central story in the chronological order, while glancing through Aisholpan's school life and her family's nomad traditions. Once Aisholpan expresses her wish to become an eagle huntress herself, to follow the family's hallowed heredity, it is worth noting that her parents' wholesome espousal is not because there is no male heir in the household to carry on the torch, she is the eldest child of three (two girls, one boy), so remarkably, it is purely derived from love and support without any hidden agendas, as her mother comments, a girl should have her own right to choose what she wants to do. After a perilous outing near a mountainside cliff to nab her own eaglet. Aisholpan is officially geared up to become a real eagle huntress under Rys' training and her grandfather's blessing (although the training process feels a shade under-presented).Meanwhile, first-time director Otto Bell doesn't intend to set the bar of obstacles too high, barring for the discontent from some senior male eagle hunters addressing bromides, there is no hindrance in Aisholpan entering the region's annual Golden Eagle festival as the first female and youngest participant, and without too much pains, she snatches the first place in front of the awe-struck audience and fellow contestants. When the fanfare settles, the real challenge transpires as Aisholpan and Rys embark on a fox-hunting journey in the wintry terrains of slippery frozen rivers and knee-deep snows, which will ultimately qualify her as a bona-fide eagle huntress, the film aptly brings down its curtain after Aisholpan's golden eagle conquers its first prey in tandem with Sia's infectious closing-credits song ANGEL BY THE WINGS. Undeniably, this smoothly orchestrated tale somewhat runs to betray its staged M.O. of re-enacting Aisholpan's victorious trajectory than recording these events in real-life synchronicity, but bearing in mind the daunting task to capture he stupendous eagle-swooping momentum, one might find this compromise unavoidable. Be that as it may, THE EAGLE HUNTRESS is a massively appealing ethnic reportage even its leitmotif appears pretty generic, but on the other hand, viewers should be glad the filmmakers haven't elevated their subject onto the stratosphere of progressive feminism, to accommodating a more westernized taste, which does speak volumes of their integrity to preserve Aisholpan and her family's unalloyed affinity with the awe-inspiring nature and tradition, to whom, that is what really matters.

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czubad

However much this documentary gives you the feeling that it was staged, there is no mistaking the lead role's innocence and strength. The centerpiece isn't so much the cinematography, but that 13 year old girl's seemingly from birth choice to take up training an eagle to hunt. Even the hardships seem effortless to her. For example, finding the baby eagle and taking it from its cliff-edge nest, the high point of the documentary, finds her making hand motions to the eagle, putting it at ease like a mother eagle. Later, she pets it while feeding it, and snuggles under its already enormous wing. When she and her father go to the competition, this is when the film seems most staged, but how can a filmmaker do that and get away with it seeming natural? Then comes the hardest hardship of going into the mountains to catch game, carrying the 15 pound eagle (that's a stone for you Europeans) on her arm as she and dad ride on their horses for miles into the cold. It's as if David Attenborough will soon start narrating. The film's thorn is a non-indigenous soundtrack. Though sweeping, it sounds much too Western to give the film a needed dimension of authenticity.

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Torsten Klimmer

This film reignited my love for documentary. The movie in itself often feels like an acted feature film where some of the scenes could be staged, but they are not! The purity of expression, the story, and the cinematography, as well as the editing are exceptional! It made me wonder how it is possible to even capture something like this - technically and humanly speaking? The film could have been improved by using a professional narrator's voice, but what blew it (a little) for me was the final (title) song. Otherwise most sound was beautiful, although at times, the audio felt a bit cliché and harshly mixed. A truly amazing movie! Wow, what an accomplishment.

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trekwithleena

As this story is about a young Mongolian girl who is pursuing her dream to become a traditional Eagle Huntress like her father, you might be inclined to believe the main plot is about emerging feminism in modern Mongolia. But the true story is something much more magical. A traditional father who loves and supports his daughter, and a loving daughter who holds her father in the highest regard as a teacher. Nothing could be more true and touching, as he encourages her to be whoever she dreams to be.... a girl who wears bows in her hair, laughs with her friends, and can ride a horse and tame an eagle as good as any man on the steppe. A must watch.

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