If you haven’t heard the name Isaiah Saxon, you likely will soon. An American film and music video director, Saxon co-founded the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura and the online community DIY.org. He’s co-directed incredibly imaginative, surreal music videos for Grizzly Bear, Björk, and Panda Bear that all feel like a whimsical, creative mix of Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze, and it should be no surprise his inventive work has inspired a forward-looking company like A24 to back his first feature-length film. Titled “The Legend Of Ochi,” the movie looks like a magical, dazzling adventure fantasy about a young girl who makes friends with a forest creature believed to be dangerous and feral, and the family and community that try to stop her from reuniting this creature with its rightful family.
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There are shades of Jim Henson all over “Labyrinth” and some of his other more adult-minded fantasy films and or the ones inspired by it. Written and directed by Saxon, “The Legend Of Ochi” stars German actress Helena Zengel (the young girl from Paul Greengrass’ “News Of The World” with Tom Hanks), Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, and Willem Dafoe.
The trailer is really magical and radiant; a showstopper that features Kate Bush’s ravishing and expressive “Hounds Of Love” song, which really elevates already wondrous imagery.
Here’s the official synopsis:
In a remote northern village, a young girl, Yuri, is raised to never go outside after dark and to fear the reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. When a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.
“The Legend of Ochi” is set to arrive in theaters on February 28, 2025.