The legend of Ochi movie review: The film relies on live action, impressive production values and inventive story elements to tell its heartwarming story
Still from the movie
Cast: Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Razvan Stoica, Carol Bors, David Andrei Baltatu, Andrei Antoniu Anghel
Director: Isaiah Saxon
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 96 min.
A charming family film that has an old-worldly charm, ‘The legend of Ochi’ works with original puppetry and is devoid of CGI manipulation. In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to take him to his home.
Yuri (Helena Zengel) is the daughter of Maxim (Willem Dafoe), who is leading a hunt for the wild Ochi. Ochi are creatures that have simian features, are brightly colored and emit high-pitched sounds. It’s a night hunt, there are gunshots, and sounds of Ochi screeching and escaping.
Yuri’s mom Dasha (Emily Watson) left some time ago, and Maxim won’t even say her name.
Yuri has a caterpillar for a pet, feels lonely and unloved because Maxim, busy with his hunts, practically ignores her existence. Everything changes for Yuri when she finds a baby Ochi in the woods one day, its leg stuck in a trap. She releases the little Ochi and tends to its wounds, vowing to return it to its mother.
After being bitten, Yuri discovers she can speak the Ochi’s language and a bond develops as the two begin their journey, that will take them across Dasha’s path as they’re hunted by Maxim and his team.
The Ochi design looks like a cross between E.T. and a Gremlin. They have a handcrafted appearance and rely on realistic puppetry techniques.
Saxon also creates a setting bathed in saturated hues, mixed with matte paintings and other practical effects, and nominal CGI. Saxon who has been making music videos for artists like Bjork, displays a craftsmanship that is unusual. The cinematography displays some visual flourishes that make it look impressive to simply look at.
The film relies on live action, impressive production values and inventive story elements to tell its heartwarming story. Writer-director Isaiah Saxon’s imaginative narrative and visual flair lends this fantastical tale an originality that seems rare in the present digitally obsessed world.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
