Wick's Review

Summary - Really Great 4.5

Mongolian men have hunted with eagles for a millennium, an amazing partnership of human and raptor. Now the eagle hunters have welcomed a female, and a mere girl of 13 at that. This crisp documentary about that eagle huntress awes and uplifts in equal measure, the latter from its cheerful female empowerment story, the former as a lens into the super cool practice – transcendent really – of hunting with eagles.

What 13 year old kid wouldn’t want a pet eagle? The kid in me fell in love with the notion, and with Aisholpan Nurgaiv, the eagle huntress herself. She and her ever supportive father riding on horseback across the steppes, golden eagles perched on their arms, is a uniquely heartwarming father-daughter image.

Put it all together and The Eagle Huntress becomes one of the few documentaries worth a trip to a theater. It not only features an immensely likable and admirable young lady, it documents the legitimate hero’s journey she undertakes with her stalwart father’s guidance and support. And did I mention she captures her very own golden eagle, who then becomes her trusty hunting partner? It doesn’t get cooler than that.

Acting - Perfect 5.0

Aisholpan Nurgaiv is a delightful and intrepid young lady. Her father and grandfather also make strong impressions for their stolid support of her tradition-bending pursuit of becoming an eagle hunter.

Daisy Ridley, she of recent Star Wars fame, narrates parts of the film.

Film - Great 4.0

Otto Bell’s camera provides eagle-eyed views of the eagle huntress capturing her golden eagle from its cliffside nest, training it, winning the prestigious Golden Eagle Festival and then bagging a fox with it in arctic conditions. The bird’s eye views of eagles in flight are a testament to drone-based cinematography.

Edge - Tame 1.3

Eagles are raptors, which means they are aggressive carnivores. There will be blood, albeit not a lot of it.

Reality - Natural 1.0

The reality is natural in this straight-up documentary. Now on to the impressions triggered by that reality.

• Ethics of capturing eagles as hunting companions: The movie opens with an eagle hunter releasing his trusty eagle at age seven. We’re informed that eagle hunters do this as a matter of custom so the birds can return to the wild and support the circle of life. Even if they didn’t, hunting with eagles is a millennium old tradition. Post-modern Western sensitivities are irrelevant.
• Female empowerment: The eagle huntress’s father is as impressive as she is in terms of societal bravery. In a society that venerates its elders and ancestors, even her grandfather proves his righteous instincts by blessing her goal to become an eagle huntress.

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