Oh, and it's all done by puppets.

Yep, puppets. Or marionettes, if you prefer. Basically, combine the plot of Conan the Barbarian with the cast of Team America, and you're halfway to visualizing what Strings looks like. And as for what it sounds like ... well, let's just say it's yet another dusting off of the old Joseph Campbell Hero Epic, complete with overbaked exposition, patently familiar adventure flick concepts, and (considering that we are, after all, looking at a bunch of puppets) a somewhat self-serious delivery that threatens to get more than a little silly.

But still ... there's a lot of artistry, craftsmanship, and heart that goes into a project like Strings, so I'm not about to take the easy road and mock the thing for being a little bit weird. Plus it's just too easy to say "Bah. Puppet adventure movie. Silly." So while Strings has its fair share of genre-similarity and borderline goofiness, I still kinda liked this bizarre little experiment.

Co-written and directed by Danish filmmaker Anders Rønnow-Klarlund, Strings might not have amounted to anything interesting were it not for the puppetry "gimmick" -- but while I don't think the film is anywhere near brilliant, I do appreciate the massive effort and dedication it must have taken to put Strings together. I mean, whoa. Imagine your standard adventure movie (a la Dragonslayer or The Dark Crystal) -- only with all puppets. Strings (obviously) and all. After hearing how ridiculously difficult it was for the directors of Team America, I can only imagine that the Strings-pullers had it even worse.

Of course I realize that "puppetry in cinema" is not nearly a new concept, but it's easy to admire the filmmakers who'll tackle this kind of project. On a visual scale, much of what Strings has to offer is quite lovely; The marionettes are quite brilliantly crafted, from the lovely little princess to the dark, twisted villains. Even if the figures never really seem like real characters (the eyes are glassy and the mouths never move), the filmmakers were clever enough to bring some pretty cool ideas to the table: The characters seem perfectly well aware that they are "puppets" of a larger force; that their lives end when that final string has been (literally) snipped; and that (as corny as it may sound) all the characters are truly connected to each other.

Some would call it simplistic and silly; I think it's fairly clever and actually a little bit sweet. But hey, I've always had a soft spot for a good puppet show.

Final Thoughts: It's a novelty item, to be sure, but if you're a hardcore adventure buff, and you don't mind a little Shakespeare and silliness combined with non-stop puppetry, then you might want to add Strings to your rental queue. You may think it's brilliant or you might find it ridiculous, but you'll certainly have to admit that it's ... different.

A dramatic tale of adventure, bondage and liberation; of love and war, destiny and vitality, identity and common humanity, "Strings" mixes together a magical blend of themes that range from Shakespeare to "Star Wars" to "The Lord Of The Rings".

Strings is the story of Hal, the young prince of Helbaron and his treacherous ascension to the throne. The film opens with Hal's father, the aged king, despairing of ever bringing peace to the land thanks in large part to his own bloody past, committing suicide to clear the path for his son to assume the throne believing that perhaps Hal will be able to succeed where he has so abjectly failed. But, as if having your father commit suicide isn't bad enough, things take a turn for the worse for Hal when the old King's power hungry brother sees the suicide as a chance to assume power, destroys the king's suicide note, concocts a story that the king was murdered by the country's ancient enemy, and sends Hal on a quest for revenge thus clearing a path to the throne for himself. As Hal sets out on his quest he is forced to confront many unsavory truths about his kingdom, his father and, finally, himself before returning home to set things right.

Strings has a well worn plot, yes, but Klarlund does it right, telling it with enough style and ingenuity to keep things fresh and gripping. His characters are well fleshed out, he laces in numerous sub plots, the voice cast is excellent, and there is a degree of richness and complexity to the story and world that being a welcome reminder that fairy tales are not necessarily meant for children. He gives his story an unusual degree of darkness and Hal's journey is as much an inner journey as he realizes the costs involved in maintaining his privileged lifestyle – an early example comes when he injures a hand and has it replaced with a new hand taken from a living slave bred for spare parts – and that underlying theme of personal responsibility and blindness to our own sins gives the film much of its unusual heft.

As strong as the storytelling is, however, the real stars here are clearly the puppets and their miniature world. This is a film guaranteed to succeed only to the degree that people find the puppets believable and on that count Strings is an absolute, unqualified success. The puppets are stunningly expressive, even more so when you consider that the only moving part on their faces is their eyes. The world the puppets inhabit is fantastically detailed and beautifully shot. But Klarlund's wisest choice proves to be the choice to embrace the artificiality of his 'actors' rather than struggling against it. Rather than trying to force his puppets to behave just as people do he embraces their limitations, not only NOT hiding the strings but actually making them the central driving image of the film. He has built a world where the science, architecture, technology and spirituality of the citizens are all built purely around their strings. Everywhere you look this world is packed with fascinating details, startling and surprising little touches that remind you that this is a fantasy world fundamentally different from our own. It's the sort of film that you can watch again and again finding more and more little things hidden away in the background.

Final Thoughts: Strings is unusual, compelling viewing and pretty much a must see for fans of arthouse fantasy films. Completely unique, absolutely beautiful, well written stuff. Essential viewing.