Legend of Ochi, The

Story

Yuri (Helena Zengel) is a young girl being raised by her father Maxim (Willem Dafoe) on a remote island in Carpathia. Yuri has been told that her mother left her when she was small. Yuri has an adopted brother called Petro (Finn Wolfhard), who was orphaned at the age of 14 and taken in by Maxim. Maxim trains both children, along with a group of youths, to fight the Ochi, ape-like creatures that live in the forests. Yuri has been raised to believe that the Ochi destroyed her family. The group goes on regular hunts into the forest, armed with rifles and knives.

Yuri is checking traps in the forest one day when she finds a baby Ochi caught in a trap. She releases it and takes it home. She then decides to reunite it with its family and defies her father to do so. She sets off alone into the forest with the baby Ochi, and along the way people shoot at them. The baby Ochi bites Yuri in fright, which leaves her weak and dying. She falls down a hole and is rescued by her mother, Dasha (Emily Watson), who takes Yuri back to her cottage.

Meanwhile, Maxim and the boys set out to track Yuri, with Petro leading the way on horseback. What happens next changes everyone’s lives and their relationship with the Ochi.

Themes

Fantasy; child abandonment; poverty; boy soldiers

Violence

The Legend of Ochi has some violence. For example:

Maxim and his troop fire rifles at the Ochi in the forest. A creature knocks over one of the boys and another one knocks over Yuri. The forest is set on fire.
Yuri runs at the baby Ochi with a stick. It’s not clear whether she’s trying to kill it or free it, but it gets away.
Petro enters Yuri’s room and sees the Ochi. He aims his rifle at it, but she pleads with him to let them go.
Yuri and the baby Ochi go into a supermarket for food, but a woman sees the Ochi and screams. The young man on the checkout picks up a rifle and starts shooting at them. Yuri steals a car from outside the supermarket, and a man chases after them. A wheel falls off, and they end up in a ditch.
Dasha kills a bat and cooks it as a cure for the Ochi bite. She tells Yuri that Maxim chopped off her hand when an Ochi bit her.
The boys start destroying Dasha’s cottage. She hits out at Maxim with a weapon.
Maxim grabs Petro by the throat and throws him to the ground.
The boy soldiers have their rifles aimed at the Ochi family. Maxim tells them to hold their fire, but a boy shoots anyway.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in The Legend of Ochi.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

The Legend of Ochi shows some use of substances. For example, Dasha smokes cigarettes.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity or sexual activity in The Legend of Ochi.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in The Legend of Ochi.

Coarse language

The Legend of Ochi has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Legend of Ochi is a grim story with a happy ending. It’s filmed using puppetry and old-style story boards, which makes it unique and different from CGI movies.

The Legend of Ochi is quite intense and dark, with heavy themes of child abandonment and boy soldiers. It’s therefore not suitable for children aged under 11 year and is better suited to teenage and adult viewers.

The main messages from The Legend of Ochi are to have empathy for fellow creatures and stand up for what you believe in.

Values in The Legend of Ochi that could reinforce with your children include:

knowing the difference between truth and lies
having the courage of your convictions
valuing the bonds between mother and child.

The Legend of Ochi could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues and questions like the following:

Maxim lies to Yuri about her mother and other things. Yuri eventually comes to disbelieve her father and runs away from him. If you find yourself in trouble, what are your options other than running away?
It’s wrong to train young boys to be soldiers. What are the consequences of this activity?
Yuri and the baby Ochi steal from the supermarket because they’re hungry. Does this make stealing morally OK?