Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, THE EAGLE HUNTRESS features some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography ever captured in a documentary, giving this intimate tale of a young girl’s quest the dramatic force of an epic narrative film. After all, what would the bleak Altai mountains have to do with a female living through her first year of teenagerdom? Nature might be occasionally caught in the raw but the straight-forward narrative and simple subtitled dialogue could have been easily plucked from the pages of a children’s bedtime fable. With Aisholpan Nurgaiv, Daisy Ridley, Rys Nurgaiv. Eagle Huntress,” a sky-high documentary salute to girl power, is at its best when it soars with a purity of purpose while propelled by a humbly determined 13-year-old Mongolian girl on the brink of breaking through an ancient gender divide. … Aisholpan, the eagle huntress. eagle after seven years of service and slitting the throat of a sheep as one last reward. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. They include Morgan Spurlock of “Super Size Me” fame, who provided financing and equipment while offering to recruit actress Daisy Ridley—lightsaber-wielding Rey in the current “Star Wars” trilogy—as a narrator. The Eagle Huntress Directed by Otto Bell 87 minutes, rated G ★★½ Limited release The Eagle Huntress review: A problematic documentary Skip to sections navigation Skip to content Skip to footer You can see why New York-based director Otto Bell was moved to shoot his first full-length doc after being riveted by the BBC News photos of this young lass casting the massive eagle perched on her arm into the heavens. Film reviews round-up: The Eagle Huntress, Through the Wall, Ballerina, The Son of Joseph. eagle-hunting elders, who we hear as they condescendingly describe girls as being “too fragile” and “not brave enough” to participate, are hardly villains despite their old-school notions. Reuters reported in 2012 on Makpal Abdrazakova, aged 25, an eagle huntress who claimed the full blessing of her elders. Even the villains, those nasty jerks trying to keep a young girl from her dreams when she so clearly has a natural gift, are elegantly framed, with dazzling decor in their traditional dwellings. One result is that there is very little build-up of tension involving Aisholpan’s pursuit of her dream as she faces down 70 experienced fellow competitors. But that doesn’t, in the end, make “The Eagle Huntress” any less wonderful. K, I’ll come clean: I didn’t know that much about the nomad Kazakh minority living in, The Eagle Huntress trailer: a soaring tale of success against the odds. Add a dizzying panoramic setting in a remote locale atop the Altai Mountains with wide-open vistas and frigid temperatures that can drop to 40 below zero and this true-life tale is prepped for emotional takeoff. The Eagle Huntress–A Film Review. Eagle Huntress” feels scripted at times and the actions we witness are sometimes staged or even manipulated? Inspiring documentary about barrier-breaking teen girl. The Eagle Huntress review — ‘Strange and far-flung’ A Mongolian girl learns the ancestral skill of capturing an eagle to train and hunt Share on Twitter (opens new window) Most fascinating is their working relationship with the magnificent golden eagles of the region. This is why my favorite moment is when she puts vivid lavender polish on her nails before embarking on the long all-day journey on horseback to the festival. First, she must find and wrest an eagle away from its mother. The most compelling sequence that the filmmaker captures, one of many shot in precarious outdoor conditions, isn’t even the contest that Aisholpan eventually enters. Somewhat. Kate Erbland You go, girl! Mom is OK with her oldest child not being interested in domestic tasks that are traditionally tended to by women. The Eagle Huntress hasn’t just resulted in financial reward and cultural renewal. The Kazakh nomads may not have many material things, but what they do have doesn’t want for style. The Eagle Huntress is a 2016 internationally co-produced Kazakh-language documentary film directed by Otto Bell and narrated by executive producer Daisy Ridley. There’s also just enough red in tooth and claw in the foxhunting moments to claim verisimilitude, but not so much that children will be vomiting into their popcorn. “The Eagle Huntress” is rated G. In English and Kazakh, with English subtitles. In addition to the feelgood, family-friendly aspects (along with Daisy Ridley, Star Wars’ Rey, narrating), there are wonderful glimpses of this unique society’s non-ornithological customs. Somewhat. That's a shame, as Aisholpan's story - the story of a 13-year-old girl trying to break into the male-dominated world of eagle hunting - is already a pretty winning one, without all the added structure and voice over and ADR. Later, a pair of animals gets into a vicious claw-and-tooth struggle for survival but only the merest hint of carnage is shown. eagle perched on her arm into the heavens. Even the Kazakh eagle-hunting elders, who we hear as they condescendingly describe girls as being “too fragile” and “not brave enough” to participate, are hardly villains despite their old-school notions. The film follows 13-year-old Aisholpan as her father trains her to become the first female eagle huntress in Mongolia – a job that has always been passed down from father to son over the centuries. In fact, the atmospheric locale is as much an engaging character as Aisholpan herself. The Eagle Huntress is so beautifully shot you'd almost book passage to visit this isolated world in Mongolia by the China border. Enter Aisholpan, a rosy-cheeked, exuberant 13-year-old daughter of an eagle hunter with a natural propensity to follow in her father’s footsteps. The snowy, rocky terrain of the Altai mountains is gorgeous and inviting, but also treacherous. By her side are her two faithful companions, a majestic golden eagle chick that she is about transform into a mighty pursuer of prey and her supportive nomadic herder father—Nurgaiv, a two-time champion hunter himself—who proudly oversees his daughter’s own training so she can become the first female to compete in the Golden Eagle Festival. The movie needs a centerpiece, though, so Aisholpan ends up entering the community’s annual Golden Eagle competition. The Eagle Huntress (2016) Reviews on Cinafilm.com - 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… The Eagle Huntress review. The Eagle Huntress is a documentary about Aisholpan, her path to becoming an eagle hunter, a cultural heritage usually taken on by males, the family that supports her, and the Mongolian Kazakh community that seeks to continue the ancient tradition with its Golden Eagle … Especially in this remarkable environment, captured in breathtakingly crisp digital video. ability to enthrall comes in the form of several well-known outside participants who wanted to lend their support after viewing footage. But Bell does compensate by presenting an even greater challenge as a finale, when Aisholpan and her eagle attempt to entrap a fox in the wild for the first time while she and her father ride their horses across hazardous iced-over bodies of water and waist-deep snow. 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