The Eagle Hunter’s Son – Die Stimme des Adlers (2009)

Directed by: René Bo Hansen | 87 minutes | family | Actors: Asilbek Badelkhan, Serikbai Khulan, Bazarbai Matei, Mardan Matei

Films about Mongolia’s vast landscapes have appeared more frequently in recent years: ‘The Cave of the Yellow Dog’, ‘The Story of the Weeping Camel’ and the fairly recent ‘Tuya’s Marriage’, although the latter is in fact a Chinese film about inner Mongolia. ‘The Eagle Hunter’s Son’ is a German/Swedish youth film set in the inhospitable border region between Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and this film also takes the landscape as its starting point. Barzabai (Barzabai Matei) is an adventurous boy who wants to discover the world with his brother Khan. His father has other plans for him, he wants Barzabai to be his successor as an eagle hunter. Barzabai initially doesn’t like this and after his brother has left for Ulan Bator, he decides to traverse the Mongolian wilderness in search of his brother.

His father’s eagle chases Barzabai to keep an eye out. Soon a bond develops between people, nature and animals. The bond that Barzabai gradually develops with the eagle is beautiful, it is impossible not to love the majestic and almost mythical animal. However, the actual journey and the motivations for it are not convincing. Barzabai may go from one exciting situation to another, the rest remains a big gap. His choice to look for Khan is understandable, but to travel alone through the immense steppes of Mongolia without any preparation requires a lot of understanding. The story may not be that big, but the images of the Mongolian landscape are unparalleled. The natural beauty is overwhelming and director René Bo Hansen does not shy away from making his entire film dependent on this. Not only are the images of nature a feast for the eyes, when Barzabai wakes up in a Buddhist monastery we are also overwhelmed with the architectural beauty of this complex.

The only question is whether natural beauty is a good basis for a youth film. The principle is excellent for a youth film, Barzabai crossing the mountain passes with his eagle, having adventures (including an unconventional chase by a wolf) and coming into contact with both good and bad people. The lack of realism shouldn’t be a problem, although the scene where Barzabai finds his brother Khan alive in a mine after it had partially collapsed is very over the top. Apart from this, a youth film should of course be attractive to children. And this is not always the case, the different scenes follow each other in rapid succession, while the shots of nature, on the other hand, are often drawn out so long that this can sometimes turn out to be sleep-inducing for children.

‘The Eagle Hunter’s Son’ deserves to be watched, the visual beauty is so beautiful that you immediately want to book a ticket to Mongolia. It may not be interesting enough for children, but it is a beautiful print about the relationship between children and nature.