The Legend of Ochi, Review: Conversations with a baby monster

The Legend of Ochi, Review: Conversations with a baby monster

Whenever Hollywood films take-up a subject that is steeped in folklore, mythology, talking animals, birds, creatures or monsters, it creates a universe for them. In other, similar films, the creature is neither a hero or villain among his own ilk. Then there is the choice between full-fledged animation, or a combination of Animation and VFX. The Legend of Ochi is one film where the monster is neither glorified nor vilified. Instead, while in the film, creatures live in forests and caves, and do cause death and havoc among humans, a baby Ochi is saved by a caring girl, while a possé tries to hunt down as many of the beasts it can. She is Yuri, the daughter of the man who leads the armed mini-army. She finds little Ochi, the size of a one-year-old human infant, to be harmless, cute and adorable. On an impulse, she hides him in her back-packers’ bag, and takes him home. You might try and guess what happens next, but, most likely, you will never imagine the developments thereafter. The Legend of Ochi is old wine on the surface, but a new cocktail, in a brand new bottle. It is strange and brooding in parts, with some content that the kids should not be exposed to, yet it has overall universal appeal.

Ochi have been attacking, even killing, the village folk in a remote Carpathian island in the Black Sea, where modernism and Biblical influences co-exist and thrive. They have anachronistic institutions and convenience stores, like churches, cars, gas stations and supermarkets. Maxim and Yuri live in a far-off, mountainous village that has been targetted by the Ochi, time and again. His wife, Dasha, has left them and lives alone, far away from her conjugal home, doing cattle farming. Maxim seems to hold on to ancient references, mainly from the Bible, which he sometimes chants or speaks aloud, or songs played on the radio, which he sings along.

He gathers a bunch of boys and an adult, who seems to be in his late teens. They arm themselves with guns and axes, and head for the forest, which is the hideout of the Ochi, to eliminate as many of the animals as possible. In addition to a gun, Maxim gives Yuri a knife, which, he says was handed down to him by his father. He also reminds her that an Ochi had attacked her mother and brutally injured her. The couple do not live together because the woman abandoned them, and left for an unknown place in the vast jungle, and, Maxim adds, she does not want to them ever again.

During their attempts to shoot-at-sight, the hunters only manage to injure one baby Ochi. The rest of them escape the bullets, being barely visible in the dark jungle. While the rest of the party head home, Yuri, who has caterpillars for pets, lags behind, to take the injured, bleeding Ochi baby with her. Surprisingly, she manages to get close to it and puts him in her bag, without any struggle. When she reaches home, she dresses his wound, but is sure that the Ochi would be found out, and she will then have to bear the wrath of her father. Only one member of the party, Petro, discovers her with the Ochi, but is humane enough to let her escape, with the creature. He then sounds an alarm that Ochi is missing, and has been kidnapped. Now, more than ever before, Maxim is determined to lead his boy-army to find Yuri and kill Ochi predators. Meanwhile, Yuri discovers she can understand some of the sounds made by her pet, and soon, she is able to ‘speak’, with screeching Ochri sounds that the baby beast understands too. They are now friends. But Maxim and company are getting nearer and nearer.

Ochi might have been derived from a word like Yuichi, which means a Red Indian tribe of the South-Eastern U.S.A., who speak the Uchean language, or it might be an original proper noun, brought up at a brain-storming session of the film unit, to name the creatures. It certainly has no meaning in the English language. Writer-director Isaiah Saxon, whose name identifies with the setting of the film, has made language and familial ties, human or animal, the central theme of the film. Time and again, he brings up the issue of language and communication. Although a beast is the metaphor he uses to drive home his point, he also infuses the beast with human expressions, spoken in a language that only a little girl, with motherly traits, not only understands, but replies using the same beasty, screechy and rhythmic language. Sometimes, his using of ancient and Biblical quotes mouthed by Maxim becomes predictable and unnecessary, and will not resonate with audiences who have not read the Bible, or those that do not remember the whole text. As is stands, it has substantial appeal to all and sundry across the world, beginning with the U.S.A., but its universal appeal could have widened if he had used alternate, more familiar quotes.

Though Yuri has never been taken to the supermarket or tasted bottled milk, when she finds herself outside a supermarket, she goes in, picks up a plastic bottle containing milk, feeding the hungry Ochi Junior the same, who gulps it down without as much as a murmur. In turn, Ochi decides to teach Yuri to eats bugs and worms. There is a curfew in place at the village, from night till morning, lest some Ochi attack the villagers in the dark. Though he presents a terrain that is full of forests, streams, huge trees and caves, providing perfect hiding ground for the Ochi, it does seem that the village folk have not, as yet, gone on a concerted seek and kill, eliminating mission, full cry. Even in the present expedition, there is no real adult, only boys, who, he says, are worthy of being his sons, and his daughter. Appears strange. Saxon’s world is one in which old and new, bonds and separations, cars and rafts, humans and little known creatures, hard-boiled settlers and sympathetic folks, co-exist. In this world, you might be surprised to find a supermarket. Locales include Transylvania, in the Apuseni Mountains, at the Bâlea Lake, the Transfăgărășan Road and other Romanian locales. The film makes use of puppetry, animatronics, computer animation and matte paintings. Ochi is a puppet, operated by 7 puppeteers. It is not clear why the director has not put-sub-titles in the last leg of the film, where Yuri and Ochi Junior say a lot, in Ochian, of course.

Casting is excellent, though only the lead couple and their daughter, all three casting coups, have the trace of a back-story. The other members of the cast fit into their sketches quite well.

American-Italian actor Willem Dafoe plays Maxim. A consistent performer, 69-year-old Dafoe was seen recently in The Florida Project (2017), At Eternity's Gate (2018), The Lighthouse (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Poor Things (2023). He is a treat to watch. Cast as Dasha, British actress Emily Watson was last seen playing the lead role in Dune: Prophecy (2024). 16-year-old Helena Zengel, who looks younger than her age, acted recently, in the film, Transamazonia. Helena shows amazing maturity for her age, is completely at home in most sticky of situations, and will be noticed for casting for roles in forthcoming projects. Finn Wolfhard, a Canadian actor and musician, puts on the right expressions for Petro, a man who surrenders to the will of the pack-leader, is committed to the mission, yet has an ambivalent attitude towards the Ochi.

Music, by David Longstreth, is always ominous and foreboding, eerie and super-naturalistic. The songs used in the film are not among those I am familiar with. Cinematography by Evan Prosofsky has to deal with poor lighting and many grey tones, which he does commendably. The real shots and the mastered shots blend seamlessly. The film is edited by Paul Rogers, and at 95 minutes, is just right to tell the story, without any unnecessary paddings.

The Legend of Ochi is not children’s fare if you go by the Disney-Pixar books. And yet, children will identify with the film the most. Don’t be surprised if your little ones go rattle-screech-cluck, in trying to imitate the Ochi. Adults too will find a lot to identify with, which makes it a very good husband-wife-kids outing. Just suspend the disbelief into accepting that there is an undiscovered primitive animal that lives in dense forests and occasionally attacks the settlers’ villages. Comparisons will be made with ET and Koi Mil Gaya, and one cannot deny that there is some commonality between the three, yet this films manages to stand-up on its own.

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://youtu.be/_z_mAhsK4a8