99 min | PG | April 18, 2025 | A24
Isaiah Saxon directs his first feature and builds a fantasy world with tactile beauty and emotional stakes. Helena Zengel anchors a story about fear and connection.
Fantasy films for children often choose spectacle over substance. The Legend of Ochi chooses both. A young girl named Yuri is raised on an island where everyone fears the ochi, mysterious creatures that live in the forest. When she finds an injured baby ochi, she defies generations of fear to return it home. The premise is simple. The execution is meticulous.
Helena Zengel plays Yuri with the same fierce intelligence she brought to News of the World. She carries the film without ever asking for sympathy. The character makes choices and lives with consequences. Willem Dafoe plays Maxim, who leads the island’s hunters. He brings gravity to a role that could have been one-dimensional. Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard round out the cast with work that serves the story without overshadowing the central relationship between girl and creature.
Saxon creates a world that feels lived-in and textured. The island landscape is shot with natural light and real locations. The ochi themselves are rendered through state-of-the-art puppetry and effects work that makes them feel present instead of digital. The film trusts practical effects over CGI and the choice pays dividends. The score by Dan Deacon does emotional work without overwhelming the images.
A24 releases this as their first family film and demonstrates that thoughtful filmmaking works for all ages. The film respects young audiences enough to include real stakes and genuine emotion. The violence is suggested rather than shown. The ending earns its resolution without manufactured sentiment.