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‘The Legend Of Ochi’ Review: Willem Dafoe In Wondrous Mystical Fantasy Adventure That Feels Like A Twisted ‘E.T.’, In A Good Way – Sundance Film Festival
A review of 'The Legend Of Ochi', a wondrous family fantasy adventure that creates a unique world of its own in the vein of 'E.T.' and other classics.
It centers on Yuri (played by German actress Helena Zengel, so wonderful opposite Tom Hanks in News Of The World), born into a family as the only child of Dasha ( Emily Watson), who leaves them to go tend sheep in a remote part of the small village on Carpathia where they live, and the eccentric and militaristic father Maxim ( Willem Dafoe) who had longed for a son and teaches her the code of this place, which is to fear the elusive primate creatures who roam the land known as the Ochis. Shot largely in Romania, in the rural areas of Transylvania, cinematographer Evan Prosofsky’s camera work expertly blends with all of Saxon’s filmmaking tools to create a visual palette caught somewhere between reality and the otherworldly. Title: The Legend of Ochi Festival: Sundance (Family Matinees) Distributor: A24 Release Date: April 25, 2025 Director-screenwriter: Isaiah Saxon Cast: Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard Rating: PG Running time: 1 hr 36 mins
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