The Legend of Ochi Review
“Amblin-esque.” – These are films that feel reminiscent of the work Amblin Entertainment produced from the 80s to the 90s, such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies and more. There are a ton of movies that feel Amblin-esque in nature that still get released, but what a lot of them lack is a story that’s engaging enough. The Legend of Ochi, unfortunately, falls under that bracket, but this doesn’t stop it from still being an impressive film for its other aspects.
These movies are comforting, highlight a sense of adventure, and for the younger audience should be opening up their minds to what’s possible. The Legend of Ochi has an excellent message behind it, and that’s simply to let kids be themselves and discover who they are. It’s a beautiful, simplistic message that gets lost in the abyss with its uninspired writing that fails to tell a meaningful story.
The Legend of Ochi takes place in the fictional land of Carpathia, where we follow Yuri (Helena Zengel), a young girl who comes across the mythical creature known as the Ochi. When she finds one in her care, she takes it upon herself to return it safely home while her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), who hunts Ochi and taught her to fear them all her life, tracks her down.
In the lead-up to The Legend of Ochi’s release, there was a wave of people who thought that AI was being used in the movie, and thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and it was a disrespectful statement. The greatest highlight of this film is its visuals and the remarkable journey it takes you through as Yuri takes this baby Ochi back home. The landscapes are filled with glowing and vivid colours that stand out, making the sense of adventure feel wondrous. The most impressive part of this film is the puppetry used to bring the Ochi to life. Isaiah Saxon puts in the care and dedication to ensure that this movie is a visual feast, and it’s a substantial feat for a director’s first feature film.
For Isaiah Saxon’s directorial debut, there’s a lot that’s right with this film from its VFX, cinematography, practical effects and most importantly, its cast. The Legend of Ochi is filled with hard hitters such as Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson and Finn Wolfhard, and for a film that has quite a weak script, the actors give it sturdy legs to stand on. Dafoe delivers another great performance with a singing voice that could make a baby Ochi fall asleep (maybe). He has a lot of fun with this performance, and it seeps through into the movie. Finn Wolfhard, on the other hand, doesn’t get much to work with, which leads him to feel rather underwhelming in the grand scheme of things.
The Legend of Ochi creates this visual world, which is rich with background, and has an opening scene that perfectly sets up the movie, but fails to actually do anything interesting with its story. With all the positives that exist, the writing extremely lets down the film, and it just ends up being a rather cheap attempt at creating an Amblin-esque movie. Isaiah Saxon has proved that he has an eye for bringing scenery to life, and it’s not a horrible attempt for his first feature movie, but if A24 is to take another chance with the director, it might be best to get another writer to tag along.
★★ 1/2
In UK cinemas now / Helena Zegel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe / Dir: Isaiah Saxon / Entertainment Film Distributors / 12A
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