'The Eagle Huntress' is too slick but heroine triumphs over movie's excesses

'Huntress' centers on 13-year-old Aisholpan, who is the first female in 12 generations of her Outer Mongolian family to participate in eagle hunting.

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Asher Svidensky/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Aisholpan in a scene from the movie 'The Eagle Huntress.'

The eponymous heroine of Otto Bell’s documentary “The Eagle Huntress” is 13-year-old Aisholpan, the first female in 12 generations of her Outer Mongolian family to participate in this practice.

The film, some of which looks staged, is too slick, and its feminist emphasis, complete with Australian performer Sia singing “You can do anything” on the soundtrack, grates. But Aisholpan triumphs over these excesses. How do you say “You go girl” in Kazakh? Grade: B (Rated G.)

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