'The Legend of Ochi' is Aesthetically Incredible But Narratively Redundant
This film would make Steven Spielberg blush. Is it up to his level? Absolutely not. How could it be? The man is a once-in-a-lifetime legend. But it certainly pays homage to his work while still being a thing of its own. When initially watching The Legend of Ochi, you can't help but get absorbed in its style. The film may be marketed towards kids, but it's presented with such heft and brevity that it feels like a fairytale made for adults. The content is presented with a gritty mise en scène that mixes eras, making it intentionally ominous when the film takes place. More so, it makes you feel like you're reading a storybook come to life on celluloid. Or at least I think it's shot on celluloid.
The Legend of Ochi is aesthetically gorgeous. Its old-school style of practical effects is superior to the CGI mush found in most big-budget flicks. The film proves why a smaller budget and a little bit of practicality tops the clickings of a mouse. There's a natural grain in the image that makes me question if it was shot on film or not. The grain gives the film a retro style that harkens back to the films of the 80s and 90s. The production design mixes 80s technology with medieval armor. When Willem Dafoe has his gear on, he looks ridiculous. Yet that's kind of the point. The movie is commenting on how stupid humanity is for going on hunts. The characters in the film act like the Ochi is a threat when they very well know that's not reality.
It would be a crime not to mention the score of this film. David Longstreth's work has the orchestration of a John Williams score, but it doesn't reach Williams' level. I can't recall any of the musical pieces played. They lack the simplicity of John Williams' masterful pieces. Still, it's a sweeping orchestral score that's inspiring.
The movie pays homage to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by telling the story of a child who befriends an unusual member of a species that humans want to harm; However, in E.T., the humans didn't directly mean to hurt E.T., although they still almost killed him. In this film, humanity hunts the Ochis, a group of cute creatures that live out in the woods of the Carpathian Mountains. The Ochi doesn't seem to bother anyone, but predictable humanity wants to hunt them because we can't help but tamper with nature. People want to presume they're not murderers, yet they can't help but kill innocent animals, either for sport or consumption. Why do Americans slam China for eating dogs when we mercilessly slaughter pigs and cows in the most heinous way imaginable? Because they're not cute, according to us. So they die. The hunt of the Ochi is reflective of humanity's destruction of nature. We need to be at the top of the food chain, so we slaughter anything that isn't human, except for our pets.
The Legend of Ochi is a man vs. Nature tale about a family that lives in the mountains and hunts animals. The father of the family, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), raises his children on his own after his wife left him. Maxim teaches his kids to fear the Ochi. He's a strict dad who instills hostility rather than love. Indeed, he does love his children; it's just that he has a weird way of showing it. Even odder is Willem Dafoe's performance, which feels phoned in. Ever since The Lighthouse, Willem Dafoe seems to just be copying the same voice as his character from that film. From Nosferatu to this, Dafoe sounds almost the same. Maybe it's because he's cast in so many projects that he can't help but repeat his performances. Willem is A24's poster child, after all. Still, there's an intensity in Dafoe's acting that makes me look past his silly voice, making me believe he's a complicated nut job.
The main performance of the picture comes from Helena Zengel, who plays Yuri. Zengel is nuanced enough to impress audiences. She projects all the basic emotions of rage and tears that get the job done. Did she really make those Ochi noises? If so, holy cow! It's her story, where a child's acting must carry the film.
Even with its impressive style, the plot is very basic. It doesn't stand out as much as it should due to its predictability. In almost every instance, I could correctly guess what would happen. We know Yuri is going to protect Ochi (who looks like Baby Yoda). We know she's going to defy her father, and we know what's going to happen to Yuri's mother from a million miles away. It hinders the effectiveness of the narrative, especially during the ending, which lacks a falling point after its climax. The film doesn't need one, but its ending is abrupt. Even with its predictable plot, The Legend of Ochi looks and sounds unlike anything I've seen in its genre for a while.
