‘The Legend of Ochi’ Flaunts Flutes, Folklore and Furry Friends

In his feature film debut, director and writer Isaiah Saxon takes viewers on a whimsical, wayward adventure.

“The Legend of Ochi” centers around young farmer Yuri (Helena Zengel), who finds a lost mythical creature called an ochi and tries to return it home. Simultaneously, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), a bombastic child battalion leader and Yuri’s father and her mother, Dasha (Emily Watson), try to stop her perilous journey. 

The blue-skinned, orange-haired ochis look like a cross between apes and bears. The sharp-toothed critters communicate through high-pitched warbling, and humans are able to talk back through flute playing. 

Overtly uncomplicated, the movie is interspersed with sparse dialogue, simple set dressings and a soft-spoken lead performance by Zengel (“News of the World,” “Transamazonia”). 

While the film’s mythicality sometimes works to its advantage, much of the non-dialogue sequences feel more like earnestly made Ewok fan fiction, with the big eyed creatures squealing in attempts to woo the audience with their cuteness.

On the surface, “The Legend of Ochi” appears to be fantasy, but it’s really more of a subdued comedy. Cute and intimate moments between Yuri and the ochi are prioritized over laugh-out-loud jokes, such as the two playing hide-and-seek inside of a grocery store freezer. 

The film’s overwhelming beauty comes from two extremes — the breathtaking panoramas of the Transylvanian Apuseni Mountains and the allure of close-up shots. Cinematographer Evan Prosofsky’s camerawork captures the texture and detail of every scene.

A score consisting of soaring strings and blaring brass — composed by David Longstreth — evokes a woodsy feeling, matching the nature-heavy aesthetics of the film. 

Another highlight comes from the talents of makeup designer Andrea Dardea Tesdall, whose knack for cosmetology is apparent through the film’s grotesquely impressive special effects makeup. Her revolting creation of a festering, blue and veiny ochi bite is sure to elicit gut-churning reactions.

Despite being second billed on the official movie poster, actor Finn Wolfhard is grossly underutilized. With so little screen time and memorability, Wolfhard could’ve been replaced by any curly-haired teen heartthrob, and the film wouldn’t have changed at all. 

In a similar manner, Dafoe’s (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Kinds of Kindness”) performance — the showiest out of the bunch — is cut short in exchange for Zengel’s much more understated performance. 

Even the final chase scene is out of place in the picturesque feature, with visuals more apt for a 4D amusement park attraction than a multimillion-dollar production. Despite being filmed on location, this sequence was obviously filmed in front of a greenscreen, full of tacky, computer-generated roaring rapids.  

Although its landscapes are visually stunning, subpar visual effects, forgotten cast members and an overall mellow aesthetic bog the mystical film down. As a whole, “The Legend of Ochi” struggles to find its way home. 

“The Legend of Ochi” began playing in theaters April 25.