I know what writer/director Isaiah Saxon was doing during the pandemic. Probably stuck inside, the outdoorsy filmmaker watched the Mandalorian, and like all of us, became enamored with baby Yoda. At his lowest moments, Grogu probably gave him hope, and he said to himself “I’m gonna make a real movie about that thing.” And hence, The Legend of Ochi was born. I hope Star Wars producers don’t sue this film, which is happy to live in its off the grid little existence.
We’re on a tiny island in the Black Sea. Maxim (Willem Dafoe) is lamenting the loss of his wife Dasha (Emily Watson), and taking it out on the local scary creatures the ochis. On Maxim’s youngest Yuri’s (Helena Zengel) first battle with the animals, she struggles, but becomes enamored with them. That inquisitiveness overwhelms her when on trap duty she finds a baby ochi caught in a trap, which she tries to hide from Maxim and her adopted brother Petro (Finn Wolfhard).
I guess a movie conceived when you’re losing your mind might not be the best idea. The Legend of Ochi wants you to like it so bad, but in doing so, just rips off better films it’s going for. Outside of the Ochi’s basically being Yoda, ET is all over this one, with the sweet young kid with an absentee parent and skeptical older brother. Saxon just rips off the How to Train Your Dragon plot too, as young Yuri learns the “violent” and “evil” creatures might have more to them than meets the eye. The movie’s only 95 minutes long, but it really stretches out those minutes, since the story feels closer in substance to a short film, making us wait and stall until we get to where we need to go.
But plot isn’t necessary to like The Legend of Ochi, because it’s two greatest assets overwhelm everything. The first is the puppetry. Saxon’s lack of time on his script was well spent on the ochis and how they look and feel. It’s magnificent work; I legitimately thought they were real more than a few times with how brilliant the performers are, making all their happiness and sadness felt as much as any of the human characters. The 2nd is the truly incredible sense of place. Evan Prosofsky’s cinematography makes you feel the epic timeless essence the story needs to work at all, with gorgeous mountain and cloud shots, colors that pop for days, and tactile sets like the cabin interiors that blend in seamlessly. After The Legend of Ochi I ended, I looked up where they shot this, and have added the Transylvanian Apuseni mountains very high on the short list of destinations to visit soon.
So if you’re looking for things to do in Romania for a few days, watch The Legend of Ochi for some inspiration. And as another epic battle between Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson for who could out weird the other. Advantage Watson after this one, though Dafoe’s prolific nature should give him an advantage going forward.