The Legend of Ochi
Danny Elfman Teaches Music for Film
A teenage girl goes on an adventure to return a monkey-like creature home in The Legend of Ochi. Yuri (Helena Zengel) is a farm girl who lives on the island of Carpathia with her militant father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), and adopted brother Petro (Finn Wolfhard). Maxim leads a militia of local teens, who live in fear of vicious monkey-like creatures named Ochi. One day, Yuri finds a baby Ochi in a trap and instead of turning it in to her father, she decides to return it home.
Maxim responds to Yuri’s disappearance by believing she was kidnapped and leads the militia on her trail. Meanwhile, Yuri finds herself reunited with her long-lost mother Dasha (Emily Watson), who has been living in an isolated cabin in the mountains. It is through Dasha that Yuri learns about the musical language of the Ochi and that they haven’t always been an enemy of humans.
The Legend of Ochi Synopsis
The Legend of Ochi is a fantasy adventure film and the feature-length debut for writer/director Isaiah Saxon. The film stars young German actor Helena Zengel (News of the World) as the teenage protagonist Yuri, who does not believe the opinions of Ochi shared by her suit-of-armour wearing militant father Maxim, played by Willem Dafoe (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice). As such, when she finds a baby Ochi in a trap, she goes on a quest to get it home.
It isn’t long until Yuri finds out she can understand and speak the Ochi’s language. This was a trait taught to her as a young child by her mother, Dasha, played by Emily Watson (Punch-Drunk Love). Despite being warned of the dangerous nature of the Ochi, Yuri is steadfast and determined to return the baby Ochi home.
My Thoughts on The Legend of Ochi
The Legend of Ochi is a film that comes across as a throwback to the Amblin Entertainment films of the 1980s. This includes the depiction of the titular Ochi completely practically using puppetry. Ochi is an immensely cute creature which will remind viewers of either E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial or Grogu from The Mandalorian.
The Legend of Ochi‘s setting of the island of Carpathia is a timeless locale, featuring modern elements such as cars and grocery stores, crossed with the fact that Willem Dafoe’s Maxim spends much of the film dressed up as a medieval knight. Maxim is arguably the most layered character in The Legend of Ochi because even though he is presented as the film’s antagonist, he still has a fatherly love for Yuri and wants her to be OK. In some ways, The Legend of Ochi is just as much about Willem’s arc as Yuri’s adventure with Ochi.
The Legend of Ochi is the type of family-friendly adventure film that doesn’t get made anymore. The puppetry of Ochi is excellent, and you can believe at times that the creature is real, which is something that CGI cannot accomplish. As such, I quite recommend taking the whole family to go and watch The Legend of Ochi.
Trailer for The Legend of Ochi
