Set in fantastical mountain settings, screenwriter/director Isaiah Saxon’s The Legend of Ochi begins with a group hunt led by a mountain man, Maxim (a typically wild-eyed, frantic, and grubby Willem Dafoe). They are searching for thought-to-be scary creatures known as Ochis.
Maxim’s band includes his young daughter Yuri (quietly portrayed by the German child actress Helena Zengel). Maxim seeks to trap and kill the Ochis—cliff-dwelling, furry, humanoid creatures thought to be a terrifying aggressor to his people.
Alone in the woods at one point, Yuri finds a baby Ochi in a foot clamp, releases it, and takes it to her home, hidden, to heal (think ET). The young Ochi directs Yuri to eat a ground beetle, which allows her to communicate in the Ochi language. She learns that the Ochi wants to return to his mother.
With the goal of returning the young Ochi to its family, Yuri sets off alone. During her journey through magnificent mountains, valleys, streams, pools, and verdant forests, she finds refuge in her estranged mother’s hillside home.
An almost unrecognizable, and equally grubby, Emily Watson plays her mother, who shows the girl kindness and understanding, ultimately assisting in her attempt to return the baby Ochi to his own mother.
This simple plot—a young girl shows kindness where others show hostility—is not atypical. Saxon gives us a child set apart from her father because of differing beliefs, choosing to rescue a vulnerable being, finding an empathetic mother, and in the process bringing understanding to baseless fears.
What is incredibly unusual, and well done, is the setting of the Romanian Carpathians surrounding the actors. The cinematography used in the storytelling is striking enough to be the sole reason to watch this film. The homes of Yuri’s parents are right out of a Grimm fairy tale.
The mix of live actors with the puppetry used to create the Ochis is equally outstanding. And how can you not adore a baby Ochi—Gremlin-like with a sky-blue face, retriever eyes, a cat nose, ample teeth, large pointed ears, and a furry body?
The actors are excellent, especially Zengel, whose face could have been painted by Vermeer. Dafoe is scene-grabbing in his aggression (and later compassion). Watson, without much dialogue, conveys wisdom and understanding.
The film is sweet, simple, yet magical.
Editor’s Note: The Legend of Ochii is now playing at The SLO Film Center at the Palm Theatre.