Strings - a movie review

Well, first let me say that I just watched a movie whose characters are all marionettes. That should put the rest into a little more perspective.

The theme of Strings is that we are all bound to one another. The metaphor of strings is obvious in the strings that control the actors, but is also carried throughout the story in other more subtle ways. When our hero is exposed to the world outside the city, he sees some of these connections, and has some shown to him.

The story itself is a hero saga, with our hero the young price setting forth to avenge his father that he wrongly believes to have been slain by their historical enemies. Of course there is an evil uncle who is furthering this for his own ends, being control of the kingdom, but that is about as trite as the story gets. Our young prince disguises himself and leaves the city with his general alone to seek the rebels who he believes murdered his father, leaving behind his sister in the clutches of the evil uncle and his henchman.

From here, however, we begin to learn that father was not always a great man, and that these rebels are really the victims of war crimes. Our hero saves the young brother of a member of the tribe of rebels, and ends up meeting them shortly after learning a horrible family secret. His father in his youth had murdered women and children of this tribe at one time.

After much travel and travails, our hero ends up back in the city without the evil uncle knowing. He learns see from his heart (or use his ki, if you think that way) and escapes from the prison just in time to hold his sister while she dies. Deposing the evil uncle our hero rides forth to save the love of his life who happens to also be the leader of the rebels, and brings her home to live in the city his ancestors kicked them out of generations ago.

The story is well told, and well worth the watching if you don't mind the marionettes.