‘The Legend of Ochi’ review: ‘E.T.’ for a new generation
4/5 little ochis
It’s hard to find a new “anything” kind of movies these days. Just when you think something is an original thought, it ends up reminding you of some other thing. It’s a form of flattery but it does mean that wholly original concepts stick out just a bit more.
That’s where The Legend of Ochi comes in. Using our deep love of adventure films from the 80s, the Isaiah Saxon film follows Yuri (Helena Zengel) on her quest to return a baby ochi to its mother. The ochi are ape like beings who hiss like cats and are being hunted by the world of man. Yuri’s father Maxim (Willem Dafoe) has a group of young men who hunt the ochi. Pedro (Finn Wolfhard) is an orphan who Maxim has brought into his home.
Yuri is often seen as less than by her father because she’s a daughter and their relationship is fraught but when an ochi ends up in her care, she suddenly has a mission: Find where the ochi lives so the baby can be reunited with its mother.
The story is pretty straight forward but Yuri is a compassionate character. Getting to see how this young girl handles the baby ochi versus her own hatred of mankind is a fascinating character study. When the baby ochi accidentally bites her when it is afraid, Yuri does not blame the baby and understands. Yet Yuri cannot comprehend how other human beings act.
But what makes The Legend of Ochi special and adortable is the mystical feeling you get while watching this. It is the same feeling I had as a kid watching The Goonies and E.T. for the first time but The Legend of Ochi doesn’t feel like it is ripping those films off. It’s just filling a void.
We miss these beautiful adventure films
Part of the issue with films that harken back to those 80s movies is that they’re using our nostalgia for them as bait. With The Legend of Ochi, it feels less like it is trying to use that to do the heavy lifting and more like it just happens to be an adventure movie. Sometimes, you can have that 80s feel by simply making a good adventure movie!
A girl who is struggling to connect with her father and her mother (Emily Watson) abandoned her? Feels very 80s! Pair that with a pseudo brother who doesn’t understand her and metal music that she is rocking out to and it is a perfect little trifecta of nostalgia and a new approach to the genre.
Saxon’s film doesn’t have to be anything spectacular or change the concept of an adventure movie. He understands that a good mystical adventure movie is rooted in the human and the being you are trying to make lovable having a deep connection. Yuri is the first human this baby ochi sees kindness in. The ochi is the first one of its kind that Yuri understands. And that cute little back and forth carries us through most of the film.
So yes, the easy comparison would be to call this the modern day E.T. but it is more than just a new take on a story we short of know. It’s a reminder that we long for adventure movies with practical effects and luckily, audiences will get to see the joy and fun of Saxon’s The Legend of Ochi.
(featured image: A24)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
