I have become so accustomed to defining children’s or family films in this era as animated that when you come upon one that doesn’t fall into that easy definition it is a welcome shock to the system. The Legend of Ochi, premiering today in the Family Matinee section of the Sundance Film Festival, is a throwback, one of those films clearly inspired by more adventurous PG entertainments of the past and never talking down to its intended audience. As a result, the A24 release is a breath of fresh air and a stunning visual treat that will appeal well beyond the youngest members in the household.
With cinematic inspirations like The Black Stallion, My Neighbor Tortoro, Roald Dahl’s The Witches, Princess Mononoke and clearly Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, director/writer Isaiah Saxon, with his feature debut, has accomplished a striking bit of world-building, combining puppetry, animatronics, matte paintings, CGI and visual effects to take us, like the best movies do, somewhere we have never been in an adventure that blends naturalistic and fantasy settings to feel like watching a movie that has been painted (he created 200 matte paintings for it himself), as much as being shot through a lens.
Techniques and inspirations aside, the story, first and foremost, must be there, and Saxon has written a compelling one. It centers on Yuri (played by German actress Helena Zengel, so wonderful opposite Tom Hanks in News Of The World), born into a family as the only child of Dasha (Emily Watson), who leaves them to go tend sheep in a remote part of the small village on Carpathia where they live, and the eccentric and militaristic father Maxim (Willem Dafoe) who had longed for a son and teaches her the code of this place, which is to fear the elusive primate creatures who roam the land known as the Ochis. Along with Petra (Finn Wolfhard), his adopted son and Yuri’s half brother, plus his band of young ragtag soldiers (think the Lost Boys), he sets out on hunting expeditions to kill the Ochis. After a failed hunt, Yuri stumbles upon a frightened and separated baby Ochi and begins to learn that maybe they aren’t to be feared at all. She bonds with the creature who has the effect of bringing her out of her own closed world, which consisted of staying in her own corner listening to black metal music and being alone, and she now finds she can communicate in the Ochi’s own unique language. She sets out to reunite the baby Ochi with its family, running away from her home, perhaps in the process changing her fate — and that of the Ochis — forever.
Emotion is at the core of this story, just as it was in E.T., but Saxon is looking for his own stamp on the genre and feels as much kinship with Ken Loach’s realistic story of a boy who befriends a falcon in Kes as much as that blockbuster. It is an independent wonder made for an estimated $10 million but if done at a studio probably would be over $100 million judging by the visual results. What is remarkable is how it all comes together so seamlessly.
Casting the human element is important, of course, and Zengel, telling us so much with little dialogue, is splendid, especially as her scene partner is a puppet coming to life in large part through the work of John Nolan Studios, and especially primate choreographer Peter Elliot, a veteran of films using primates, to make the baby Ochi so endearing. Saxon says he was inspired for the look by a type of Chinese Golden Monkey. To me, he looks like a pre-evil transition Gremlin. Dafoe, in another memorable character turn, creates a rigid combat leader battling the creatures, but who also still manages to be a 3-dimensional dad who loves his daughter. Watson is wonderful as the AWOL mother who has also found a calling studying the communication techniques of the Ochis, and who will provide some key support for her daughter. Wolfhard (Stranger Things) also finds a perfect balance as a sensitive young man, with fondness for Yuri and torn between Maxim’s expectations and the fact that he is not suited to be part of his army.
Shot largely in Romania, in the rural areas of Transylvania, cinematographer Evan Prosofsky’s camera work expertly blends with all of Saxon’s filmmaking tools to create a visual palette caught somewhere between reality and the otherworldly. David Longstreth’s impressive score is highlighted by a recurring haunting theme balanced by a more classical approach usually found in these kinds of tales. Think John Williams.
With A24 leading the way, The Legend of Ochi could well be positioned to become a big hit with families this spring. It certainly deserves to be seen — and savored.
Producers are Jonathan Wang, Richard Peete and Traci Carlson.
Title: The Legend of Ochi
Festival: Sundance (Family Matinees)
Distributor: A24
Director/Screenplay: Isaiah Saxon
Cast: Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour and 36 minutes