The Eagle Hunters Son is a 2009 family suitable drama set in the harsh foothills bordering Mongolia and Kazakhstan, where ethnicities and religion blur from one tribe to the next.
Twelve-year-old nomad Bazarbai lives in the Altai mountains on the border between Mongolia and Kazakhstan. He is reluctant to follow the family line of highly-skilled eagle handlers and dreams of living in Ulan Bator, a large city that he associates with wealth and glamour.
When his brother is given the opportunity to move to the city, Bazarbai’s sense of abandonment is rewarded by a trip to a renowned Eagle Festival. The disappearance of his father’s prized eagle kick-starts a chain of events that lead to a journey of initial temptation and then self-discovery for our young hero. As he pursues the prized eagle, he is forced to confront his position in life and learn the value of loyalty, tradition and heritage.
Powerful and moving, The Eagle Hunter’s Son is very much in the tradition of Mongol and The Story of the Weeping Camel which conveys poetry, rough beauty and genuine wisdom that appeals to children and adults in the best sense of substantial, edifying family entertainment.
Subtitled.
Awards
- WINNER: The Children’s Jury Award , Open Doek Film Festival 2009
- WINNER: Crystal Heart Award, Heartland Film Festival 2009, USA
- WINNER : CIFEJ Award 12th Olympia Film Festival for Children and Young people 2009
Reviews
“Powerful and incredibly moving film. Its gentle canal-boat pace proves a very welcome antidote to the bluster of city life.” Time Out UK
“Utterly gorgeous to gaze upon, “The Eagle Hunter’s Son” is a story of fathers and sons, young men burning for independence, and the delicate balance between man and nature, master and beast…“The Eagle Hunter’s Son” is a truly international tale, with a European crew and mostly Mongolian cast. Occasionally the story gets a little far-fetched and mystical — the eagle’s abilities grow beyond the ordinary into the supernatural. But perhaps this bit of naiveté is part of the film’s charm.” thefilmyap
"Although the setting of this film is the Mongolian Steppe, it was actually an international team from Germany, Denmark and Sweden who brought this film to the screen. The story follows the life of a young sheepherder Bazarbai (Bazarbai Matyei) and actually mirrors the real life story of his family, who has lived in this region for over 500 years. Bazarbai’s father is the fifth generation to work with falcons, and he has expectations that Bazarbai will continue their family’s tradition. Bazarbai has a hard time accepting the archaic techniques on falconry which are being pushed upon him. He is too young, too impatient, but most of all he wants to go to the city with his older brother and move into modern times. He soon becomes aware that the mythology behind these birds is a reality, and this gives him not only a chance to understand these magnificent birds but also to earn the respect of both the birds and his family. Playing the role of anthropologists, we have the chance to see into the lives of this ethnic group which is slowly disappearing and being absorbed into the corrupted and polluted modern Chinese cities. " KinoCritics