One thing about Review Stew is that we will be exploring all sorts of different movies. Case in point, this week we’re looking at a movie about an insomniac and his jellyfish. Yes, you read that correctly. Buckle up and let’s dive into…Ozma (2023).
Title: Ozma
Director: Keith John Adams
Released: June 2, 2023 (United Kingdom – Sci-Fi London Film Festival)
Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes
Available to stream on: Tubi
Jeff (Ferdy Roberts) has been struggling with insomnia ever since his wife passed away. He’s grown so accustomed to not sleeping that he has the nightly struggle down to a science. That is, until one night when out of the blue, Ozma (voiced by Éva Magyar), a sentient jellyfish, appears in the alleyway next to his house.
At this point, you have a decision to make. You’re either going to shut this off or you’re going to settle in and enjoy the ride.
While in the alleyway, Ozma taps into the same wavelength energy field as Jeff’s. Yes, that’s right, Jeff and the jellyfish can now communicate with each other.
Jeff takes Ozma in and helps nurse her back to health. As they talk more, he discovers that two police officers are hunting Ozma. But these aren’t just any officers, they wield cucumbers and relentlessly chase Ozma, determined to catch her before Jeff can secure her safety.
Yes, this is a genuinely weird movie. There is no questioning that.
For instance, I’m not sure that I have ever seen the people performing the soundtrack in the scene with an actor before. I certainly haven’t ever seen cutaways to the musicians as the scene continues on. Yet, for as out of place as that felt, it wasn’t a complete miss for me. In fact, it worked best when we first meet Jeff in his bed and the horn section is there in the bedroom with him.
Despite being just over an hour and twenty-minutes long, it felt a lot longer. There were scenes that either carried on too long or were completely unnecessary to the overall story. Removing those would tighten things up and not have the movie feel like it’s a lot longer than it needed to be.
All of that being said, for as odd as it could be at times, I rather enjoyed what the story wound up unfolding to be. It’s a unique way to frame grief and loss and I can appreciate how Keith John Adams decided to put a sci-fi spin on it.
This happened to be the feature directorial debut for Keith John Adams, who also wrote, shot, and edited it along with being in charge of the sound and production design. I, for one, will be on the lookout for what he does next.
If you read this far and still haven’t seen Ozma yet, here’s your recommendation to go and fix that.
So, if you have seen Ozma (2023), what did you think of it?
Let me know in the comments below or by reaching out to me over on Bluesky!
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