The Legend of Ochi

Helena Zengel, Germany's most beautiful *ahem* acting export, has once again been cast in an international production. As usual, she plays the role of the oddball, which is hardly surprising given her angelic features. In general, the cast is a who's who of ghost train characters, with the Ochis being the prettiest creatures here. Perhaps that's part of the message, but otherwise the film has really great visuals and a charming 80s vibe. Inevitably, 'E. T.' keeps popping into your head, even though the work is far removed from classic Hollywood. It's a bit of a symbiosis of Wes Anderson and Aki Kaurismäki, weird, whimsical, fairy-tale-like. Fairytale is actually a good description, and apart from a few awkward moments, it almost qualifies as a 'family film'. At the end, the kitsch club is even brought out, somewhat unexpectedly, in keeping with the context. All in all, it's definitely a special film that deserves to be discovered before this nice little side project is sucked into oblivion by the maelstrom of production glut.

One of the most visually interesting movies I've seen in a while. They certainly went for the nostalgia vibe, giving an 80s feel to the scenery. Plot was a bit boring for me, a tad predictable, but still enjoyable. I'm not sure if it was an issue for just my theater or an issue with the sound production, but it was incredibly loud throughout yet dialogue remained soft. I found myself covering my ears in many parts due to the overwhelmingly high-pitched sounds of the ochi and the background score and sounds just to be struggling to hear many of the characters when they spoke. Props for using an orchestral score. It was beautiful regardless of volume and added to the warm ambiance of the movie. Warming to those sensitive to loud and high-pitched sounds, you may not want to see this one in theaters.

This film has atmosphere, I'll give it that. The previews had me excited to check it out; Willem DaFoe hunting ape monsters in a viking outfit? Sign me up! The production design is top notch, the strange lost in time setting of Carpathia is beautiful and haunting, and the creature design and execution is very well done.

The story, on the other hand, seems to be an afterthought. The dialogue is indistinct (figuratively and literally; oftentimes I had no idea what they were saying), and the characters really lacked any nuance or development. Quirky for the sake of quirkiness.

My main gripe, though, is that it mostly fails as a kids' movie. I normally love slow, atmospheric films, but this one moved like the tectonic plates that formed the mountains of Catpathia. I brought my 9-year old and he didn't hesitate to tell me how boring he found the film, and we left before it ended. There was very little humor, and most of the parts that seemed to be attempts at laughs fell completely flat.

I really wanted to like this film. I admire the dedication to practical effects, and the attention to feeling and atmosphere in the world building. Unfortunately, the lack of a compelling story or characters made this into a slog.

This is one of those films that arrives quietly and softly nestles into your heart - The Legend of Ochi tells a tender coming-of-age story wrapped in myth and nature, where a young girl finds herself connected to a strange, mystical creature and makes the brave choice to protect it, even when it means letting go.

Among the group, Winny really vibed with the visual style - the colors, the misty forests, the soft lighting, and that ethereal world-building had him fully immersed. It's a beautiful film, no doubt, with that almost storybook kind of feel that lingers even after the credits roll.

Willow, on the other hand, saw the signs coming early - the whole "family sees creature, thinks it's dangerous, tries to stop it" arc. He called it from the beginning, and yeah, he wasn't wrong. Predictable? Kinda. But it still hit some nice emotional notes.

Mimikyu? Oh, she was all-in on the Ochi creature. Absolutely adored it. Said it was expressive, sweet, and honestly deserved protection at all costs. She even started shipping Ochi and the girl - not in a weird way, just that they clearly understood each other in a way no one else could. It's that soul connection stuff, and she was here for it.

Amy and Tails? Total Dad fans. Every time he popped up, they'd crack up. His moments added that quirky charm, grounding the movie with some warm, unexpected humor.

Sweet was drawn to the core concept - finding a rare or maybe even extinct creature and choosing to protect it instead of exploiting it. He felt like, yeah, it was predictable in parts, but the pacing and the way the story unfolded gave it its own rhythm. He liked how it didn't rush itself and let the bond between girl and creature breathe.

Altogether, this wasn't a perfect movie, but it was a sincere one. It gave off those quiet-but-deep kind of feels - like something you'd find in a tucked-away corner of childhood memory. Some might say it's a little rough around the edges, but that kind of adds to its charm.

Final Rating: 7/10.

All that I knew about this 2025 fantasy movie titled "The Legend of Ochi", from writer and director Isaiah Saxon, was the title of the movie and what the poster looked like. I had no idea what the movie was about when I sat down to watch it. But of course, any movie that I haven't already seen deserves a fair chance, and thus I opted to watch this movie too.

As I had no expectations to the movie, I have to say that writer and director Isaiah Saxon definitely delivered here. The storyline in the movie was rather entertaining. Sure, it was a bit simplistic if you think about it, but there was just something fundamentally beautiful about the story and the way that it was told. I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the entire movie.

The movie has a pretty small cast ensemble, and with only a few familiar faces on the cast list, which were Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson and Finn Wolfhard. Needless to say that the acting performances in "The Legend of Ochi" were good.

The CGI effects in the movie were spectacular. The creature design was great and they looked realistic and life-like on the screen, which really added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the movie. And you can't help but get swept away by the cuteness of the small creature in the movie. And I was rather impressed with the way that they managed to portray characteristics in the creature through the use of CGI. Proper special effects or CGI effects in a movie such as this is a make or break thing, and thankfully it was great here and thus served in favor of the movie.

"The Legend of Ochi" is a good and enjoyable movie for the entire family, regardless of your age.

This is definitely a movie that I would recommend you to sit down and spend 95 minutes on watching.

My rating of writer and director Isaiah Saxon's 2025 movie "The Legend of Ochi" lands on a seven out of ten stars.