The film is primarily a documentary as it depicts the real story of a young eagle huntress from Mongolia. Moreover, the director showed many details from modern Mongolian nomadic inhabitants’ lives and their traditional occupations. Watching the documentary, the viewer can learn about the living of Altai’s people and the place which the eagle hunting takes in their lives today. The film is structured according to the maturation of the main character and her becoming a real huntress. The director first introduces the craft, the protagonist, and her family describes the community and the conditions in which they live and then depicts Aisholpan’s training and her becoming a full-fledged hunter. This documentary is observational, as the filmmaker does not appear in the frame, there is little narration as well. Therefore, the director strives to depict the picture of modern eagle hunting in Mongolia through Aisholpan’s story.
The girl is characterized as brave and passionate; she dreams of becoming an eagle huntress and trains hard to achieve her goal. Aisholpan’s parents are illustrated as caring, supporting their daughter in her unusual desire. The father acts as a role model and mentor for the girl. Other members of the community are presented as traditional and not ready for change. They question Aisholpan’s ability to cope with eagle hunting’s hardships, considering her participation in the craft a shame.
The issue with outsiders filming a particular community may be people’s reluctance to spread their traditions’ secrets. For example, eagle hunting is the pride of Mongolia, a delicate craft, the skill of which has been honed for many years and passed from generation to generation. Thus, people can treat it as an exclusive ability, not wanting to reveal the training details. However, Bell captured the entire process of becoming a hunter, from catching the eagle to the first successful hunt, in great detail. The director also managed to show the life of the nomadic people of Altai and their traditions. Probably, the Mongolian eagle hunters, on the contrary, strive to glorify their craft in the world, in which the documentary helped them.