Eagle Rights

It's hard to believe that The Eagle Huntress (2016) is documentary - the story it tells is so perfect. On the other hand, its portrait of a strange world is so compelling, that it has to be real.

It is set in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia, where Khazaks hunt and herd. Some men train eagles to hunt game, mostly for fur. Now, a 13-year-old girl named Aisholpan wants to learn to be an eagle huntress, the first ever. The community of hunters don't like this - woman aren't tough enough, she'll get hurt, or just give up. But her dad loves her and just wants her to be happy, so he agrees to train her.

They head up to the mountains and find a nest where a pair of eaglets have been weaned, but haven't started flying yet. Aisholpan courageously climbs into the nest and steals one, who she then raises by hand and trains to attack and to return to the hand.

As the training progresses, she decides she wants to enter the great Golden Eagle Contest - to chose the best eagle and hunter. And indeed, she wins, and her bird sets a speed record. Then they go for their first hunt.

This movie is great for the views into the land of Mongolia and the everyday life of the Khazaks. It would have been great without the story or Aisholpan. But Aisholpan is such a radiant kid, strong, full of smiles and good humor, that the story draws you in.

And it's a great story, with some thrills but no tragedy - the elder hunters disapprove of Aisholpan, but only mildly, and they are comically silent when confronted with her tournament win. There is no dying mother, the family is pretty middle class for hunter-herders. And it ends happily for everyone (except the foxes that the eagle kills - sorry!). Even the eagle will be returned to the wild after seven years, as is the custom. A great watch.