In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy girl is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when she discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Chuck says:
Straining to walk in Steven Spielberg’s footsteps, Isaiah Saxon tries to replicate the legendary director’s “E.T the Extra-Terrestrial,” with “The Legend of Ochi,” a well-meaning but ultimately tedious exercise. Failing to stick the landing where finding the right tone is concerned, the film takes a dour approach rather than a whimsical one, the movie bogged down with a coming-of-age story that never generates the viewer’s sympathy. If nothing else, the film is a marvel to look at, the Romanian and Carpathian Mountain settings a convincing location for the Eden-like home of the titular character.
Yuri (Helena Zengel) and the other children of the village of Carpathia have been raised to fear the Ochi. Rarely seen, nocturnal beasts, they’ve become a catchall Boogeyman, blamed for everything from vandalism to the death of random livestock. The “threat” they pose has been exaggerated to the point that Yuri’s father and village eccentric, Maxim (Willem Defoe) has been allowed to form a posse of teenage boys to hunt them. They rarely see the creatures, and when they do, thankfully they’re horrible shots. One day, Yuri finds a baby Ochi in one of her father’s traps, but instead of doing away with it, she helps it escape and vows to return it to its family.
That Yuri would embark on such a quest is no surprise. What with her mother Dasha (Emily Watson), having left her and her father years earlier, the girls harbored a deep resentment towards that she’s repeatedly taken out on her father. Her anger and desperation is palpable, Yuri mothering and caring for the creature in ways she never was.
Of course, Maxim and his boys, including the orphaned Petro (a wasted Finn Wolfhard), set out to find Yuri who has just happened to be rescued by her long-lost momma from a dire situation. While this incredulous piece of plotting is a bit much to swallow, it’s in keeping within the parameters of the fairy tale Saxon is trying to tell.
Unfortunately, his approach is all wrong. There’s a touch of whimsy and wonder in “E.T.” “The Never-Ending Story,” and other films of the sort Saxon is trying to replicate that’s sorely absent here. Far too grim at times, the film becomes a monotonous slog, Yuri’s perpetual glower and Dasha’s constant condescension draining any potential joy from the story. That Zengel delivers her dialogue in a monotone mumble doesn’t help engender us to her.
As for the Ochi, they’re as cute as any animatronics team can conjure, not quite realistic but passable under the right circumstances. They’re appearance strains our suspension of disbelief, only adding to difficulty of investing in the story.
And while it’s fun watching Defoe and Watson strain to put this over, in the end “Ochi” is not the story of wonder and redemption Saxon intended. Though its condemnation of toxic masculinity and eco-positive theme are commendable, it lacks the confidence and artistry to pull it off.
2 Stars
