The Legend of Ochi

But the story has no relevance, Yuri (Helena Zengel), the hero, has zero personality, and the puppet-based titular creatures she’s trying to save are some of the dullest creations I’ve seen in ages.

“The Legend of Ochi” is a gentle fable that imagines people being able to realize there is a better way of being and living in harmony together. It’s certain to warm the heart and tug at it too.

"It’s just a shame the film’s storytelling is never as assured as Saxon’s other creative choices."

Most Hollywood monsters aren’t being rendered on this intimate scale, but there’s a craftsmanship to "Ochi" that the bigger blockbusters could stand to reclaim.

The movie is tightly packed with incident, maybe overpacked, but Saxon’s fairy tale is an intense, lived-in experience, its centuries-old folkloric atmosphere dotted with all the usual intrusive elements of progress.

... its marvelous practical effects never seem like effects at all, even if an adult brain insists otherwise given the facts we possess about our world and the creatures that inhabit it.

Saxon's lovingly handcrafted bedtime story is sturdy matinee fare with a big heart.

Despite its flaws, the movie remains an overall very sweet and enjoyable watch, and a decent start to A24’s more family oriented fare.

Most spectacularly, Saxton deploys some master puppeteers to make the Ochi look realistic, both in their expressions and movement. Making these creatures interact with Zengel … is like witnessing magic in real time.



The Legend of Ochi becomes a distinctly deflating watch, opening as it does with such promise, then offering no new sustenance for the audience’s attention as it moves through its narrative.