The Velvet Queen

Skip this documentary and watch The Eagle Huntress (2016).

Though the film has beautiful cinematography, it unfortunately has little else. As a photographer and his writer friend go on a quest in the Tibetan Highlands to film the elusive snow leopard, you get the feeling that the animal found the boys far too boring to come out of hiding.

Let me put it this way. Assume you and your spouse were going to drive to the Grand Canyon. Assume further that you agreed to take another couple with you. How would you react if your companions turned out to be both tedious and uninteresting beyond relief? As you contemplate that nightmare, you know what awaits if you decide to see this movie.

And I am not exaggerating in the slightest. To the contrary, let me just alert you that the leopard doesn’t appear until the last 10 minutes of the film. You can almost hear him mumbling to our two adventurers, “Alright, you found me, now please go away!”

Let me close by again recommending that you see The Eagle Huntress (2016). A brilliant film, you watch Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, trying to become the first female eagle hunter in her village on the Mongolian Steppe.

Opposed by the men, she is helped by her father who believes his daughter is just as capable as her male critics. Her ensuing adventure is marvelous to watch, and you will never forget her relationship with an eagle that lands on her arm as she rides a horse.

No woman who has faced discrimination on any level should miss this inspiring movie.