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    Movie Review

    News of the World squanders chance to tell unique Western story

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 18, 2020 | 12:31 pm
    News of the World squanders chance to tell unique Western story
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    The last time Tom Hanks teamed up with writer/director Paul Greengrass, it led to one of his best performances in Captain Phillips. That film was based on a real story where the stakes couldn’t have been higher for Hanks’ titular character. Their latest collaboration, News of the World, is fictional, but continues on that theme of life-or-death situations.

    Hanks plays Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former soldier who makes a living in post-Civil War America by traveling from town to town reading news from various papers across the country to interested audiences. It’s during one of his trips in Texas that he encounters Johanna (Helena Zengel), a young girl he discovers had been kidnapped by members of the Kiowa tribe for six years. In the process of being returned to her family, her wagon was ambushed, leaving her all alone.

    With no good options for anyone else to take her to her aunt and uncle in Castroville, Texas, Kidd decides to take on the responsibility himself. Having essentially been raised Kiowa, Johanna only speaks their language, and their journey is spent with the two of them trying to figure out how to communicate, as well as fend off the many dangers of life in the Old West.

    Based on the novel by Paulette Jiles, the film (co-written by Luke Davies) is relatively straightforward, perhaps too much so. The story starts off interesting, as the idea of a man entertaining others just by reading the news paired with a girl with whom he has almost no way to talk is intriguing. Indeed, it’s their “conversations” that comprise some of the best moments of the film, as the two constantly feel each other out and bond over unspoken sentiments.

    It’s when the movie transitions into genre stereotypes that it starts to falter a bit. Although Kidd is not a character typical of Westerns, the story relies on a variety of Western tropes to move it along. One of the main action sequences in the film becomes close to laughable as Kidd and Johanna try to escape a trio of bad guys. A pursuit that starts off late at night finishes in the bright sunshine for seemingly no reason; thankfully, the gun battle at its end makes up for the logical fallacy.

    What the film never seems to want to wrestle with is difficult topics like festering Civil War sentiments or relations between Native Americans and white settlers. Kidd is a voice of reason who seems to know how to ingratiate himself to any crowd, but his calming presence helps Greengrass elide the film’s thorny issues when they briefly arise.

    The character of Kidd fits right in with Hanks’ reputation for playing nice guys, but, as always, he brings more to the table than might be apparent on the surface. Kidd has a bit of a tortured history, and that sadness can be read on Hanks' face throughout, whether the scene involves Kidd's past or not. Zengel, a German actress, plays Johanna as both feral and innocent, and she hits the right notes 99 percent of the time.

    Greengrass is known for his verisimilitude in his docudramas and the Bourne series, but he misses the mark a bit with News of the World. The relationship between Kidd and Johanna is of paramount importance in this film; any big Western flourishes should have been secondary to that part.

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    News of the World opens in theaters on December 25.

    Tom Hanks in News of the World.

    Tom Hanks in News of the World
      
    Photo by Bruce W. Talamon/Universal Pictures
    Tom Hanks in News of the World.
    movies
    news/entertainment

    Movie Review

    Kids film The Legend of Ochi is a miss despite cute character

    Alex Bentley
    Apr 25, 2025 | 11:47 am
    Young Ochi and Helena Zengel in The Legend of Ochi
    Photo courtesy of A24
    Young Ochi and Helena Zengel in The Legend of Ochi.

    Most movies aimed at children tend to be relatively low-brow, with easy-to-understand stories and humor that doesn’t make anyone think too hard. The movie studio A24 is best known for its edgy films, with their only real attempt at making a “kids movie” in their 13-year history being the off-kilter Marcel the Shell with Shoes On in 2022.

    True to form, though, the new The Legend of Ochi is far from your typical kids movie despite its PG rating. Yuri (Helena Zengel) lives on the remote fictional island of Carpathia with her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe) and her adopted brother, Petro (Finn Wolfhard). The kids have been taught from a young age to fear the creature known as the Ochi, and accompany their dad and other children on nighttime hunts to protect their livestock from the bloodthirsty animals.

    When Yuri comes across a young Ochi stuck in a trap, though, she finds she is able to communicate with it in the Ochis’ chirping language. Finding herself bonded with the creature in an unexpected way, Yuri sets out to return the young animal back to its home, with Maxim, Petro, and others hot on her tail.

    Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Isaiah Saxon, the film often comes across like a light version of Wes Anderson. Saxon includes all kinds of quirky elements like Maxim dressing up like a knight during the Ochi hunts, unusual geography on the island, and - randomly - a candy-colored grocery store. Of course, Dafoe himself has appeared in five Anderson films, underscoring Saxon’s inspiration.

    But whereas Anderson generally uses the peculiarities in his films for deeper purposes, Saxon has difficulty finding much meaning in his storytelling. What seems to be at play in the film is a culture of misplaced fear, epitomized by the banishment of Yuri’s mom, Dasha (Emily Watson) after she was bitten by an Ochi. But Saxon can never properly explain why she now lives on her own, or capitalize on any emotions from when she and Yuri are reunited.

    The lack of adequate answers to questions that arise is what plagues the film for most of its running time. Consequently, the film is a non-starter in most ways; there is almost no excitement or suspense to be had as Yuri tries to achieve her quest. Saxon even fails at what should have been the easiest part of the film, making audiences fall in love with the cute-yet-ferocious young Ochi.

    Zengel, whose only previous notable role was in the 2020 Tom Hanks film News of the World, does her level best to make Yuri interesting, but she can’t rise above the film’s other faults. Dafoe knows how to play oddball roles, but this one never makes any sense. Wolfhard and Watson don’t get enough screentime for them to make a big impression either way.

    While A24 can usually be counted on to deliver memorable films that skew outside of the normal output of Hollywood, The Legend of Ochi never finds its footing. If it’s supposed to be a kids movie, it misses the mark by a long shot, with little that could be considered attractive for the younger set.

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    The Legend of Ochi is now playing in theaters.

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