Here is My Movie Review of The Legend of Ochi

 

Here is My Movie Review of The Legend of Ochi

Now when this film was announced I was really looking forward to it because I heard a lot of people say it is one of the most emotional films of the entire year. But another reason is because I love A24 films. They are really fun, they are really entertaining and this one looked really interesting. So I watched this film and this is probably one of the best films of the entire year. 

Now the storyline in this film is actually really incredible and really emotional because the film revolves around this girl named Yuri Who lives in this village and she is told by her family that she can't stay out after dark due to mysterious creatures and one day she finds this Creature called Ochi who is caught in a bear trap so she decides to get it out of the trap and she starts to bond with it he start to learn how to Talk like it and she decides to take it back to its family and that's basically what the story is for the filaments probably one the most emotional story lines of 2025. It is probably up there with Death of a Unicorn in terms of having the best storyline of 2025. 

The performances from the film are tremendous because even though this only has four actors all of them managed to give a really awesome and really emotional performance all the way through. Also this film is probably up there with Last breath with Woody Harrelson of one of the best acted films of 2025.

However, the absolute biggest standout of the entire film and of course Helena Zengel as Yuri  who probably gives one of the most beautiful and emotional performances of 2025 because you can just tell that she poured so much heart and emotion into this character. Now the character of Yuri Is probably one of the most emotional and one of the most likable characters of the entire year because she is shown that she really cares for this Ochi she really likes to take care of it and wants to bring it back home to its mother the bonding between her and the Ochi Is probably the strongest aspect of the entire film because I can watch their moments over and over again that's how beautiful and perfect friendship was throughout the whole film. The scenes with Yuri  are probably some of the most heartfelt and some of the most magnificent moments in the film whether it is her meeting the Ochi for the first time or her bonding with the Ochi In the middle of the night and learning how to speak its language it does lead to some really powerful and really beautiful moments throughout the film. The chemistry between her and Willem Dafoe.  Emily Watson and Fin Wolfhard is terrific. 

Someone else I really want to talk about is Willem Dafoe because he is a really tremendous actor. He had given some really awesome and fun performances like in the Florida Project or in The Lighthouse. Those two are really awesome A24 films. Also in other films like The Card Counter or his small role in Asteroid City. Now as for this film that's no different because he still gives a really captivating and entertaining performance as Maxim. Now the character of  Maxim is really interesting because this is a character who is really overprotective of Yuri because he doesn't want her to go out after dark. He doesn't believe that the Ochi aren't really good. He thinks that they are here to kill with his family. Now to be honest the film could have turned Maxim into a really dull and uninteresting villain but luckily they don't go that route because he does actually have a change of heart at the end of the film. The scenes with Maxim Are probably some of the most entertaining magnificent moments in the film whether it is Maxim And his family trying to catch the Ochi and bring Yuri home Or him learning that the Ochis are not as evil as he thought they were because it does lead to some really suspenseful and dramatic moments of the film. The chemistry between him and Helena Zengel is magnificent.

Emily Watson plays Dasha In the film and she doesn't play a big role in this film but for what she does have I do think she does a remarkable job as the character. Now the character of Dasha is interesting because she doesn't want anything to deal with Maxim because she doesn't believe that Ochi are real. The scenes with Dasha are really entertaining. Whether it's her telling Yuri that she doesn't want  Helper to find Ochi´s mother and that leads to some really interesting character moments and some really emotional stuff in the film because Maxim really wants Dasha  Help him find Yuri. The chemistry between her and Willem Dafoe is brilliant. 

Someone else that I was really surprised that was in the film was Finn Wolfhard, who is a brilliant actor. I liked him in the two Ghostbusters films. I also like him in the It films. I really like him in the show Stranger Things as Mike Wheeler because he gives a really mesmerizing and really tremendous performance in that show. Now in this film that's no different Finn Wolfhard still gives a really fun and charismatic performance as Petro. Now pedro Eddie character is really incredible because right from the start he showed that he really cares about his family he wants to help them find their daughter Yuri and bring her home and he is like the matriarch of the family how he manages to hold everything together because he had the oldest of Mixim’s children. The scenes with Petro all spectacular whether it is him Bonding with Maxim Him and his family trying to look for Yuri so they can be reunited. It does lead to some really powerful and captivating moments in the film. The chemistry between him and Helena Zengel is magnificent.

However the absolute best thing about this entire film is the directing Isaiah Saxon Because what's really interesting this is actually his dermatorial debut because he has directed a couple of short films but never a big studio film and I have to say for this being his first film that he has directed he did a still a job of directing because what I love about his directing is that he does a terrific job By giving so much heart and emotion of the character of Yuri because she has shown that's been really cares for the Ochi she likes to spend time with it and wants to take it home to its  family. I also like how he gives this film so much heart and emotion because the emotional core of the film is the bonding between Yuri and the Ochi and I think he did a glorious job with that. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what she is going to direct moving forward. So overall I think he did a glorious job directing this film. 

So in conclusion I was really surprised by this movie because I knew I was going to enjoy this film but I didn't know I was going to enjoy it this much that's how awesome the film was and something I really love about this film and the storyline having revolved around Yuri bonding with the Ochi and trying to brent home to his mother is a very fun and really beautiful storyline in fact this is probably up there with Everything Everywhere All At Once with Ke Huy Quan In terms of having the best storyline of any A24 film because that film still is my favorite A24 film of all time but this one is probably my third favorite A24 film because it shows so  much heart and emotion between the characters throughout the entire film. I also really enjoy the performances in the film. I still think all four of the actors do a glorious job with their characters, in particular Willem Dafoe and Helena Zengel; those two are the biggest standouts of the entire film. I also loved the cinematography in terms of like showing us the prey landscape with the fog in some sections of the film as well the rivers and the cave in the third act that looked really amazing. Also I'm going to say that this is probably in my top 5 Best films of 2025. I also think that this film is up there with Death Of A Unicorn with Paul Rudd as one of my favorite films of 2025. I highly recommend you watch the film especially if you enjoy The Florida Project from 2017 which also stars Willem Dafoe. Then I'm sure you're going to like this one. I give this movie a 10/10.