Strings

Reaction to Strings depends entirely on one's appetite for Shakespearean fantasy played out by marionettes. This dramatic tale of adventure, bondage, liberation, love, war, and destiny is performed entirely by puppets with fully visible strings that are even incorporated into details of the plot, which begins when the Emperor of Hebalon commits suicide, taking a terrible secret to his grave. After an evil uncle convinces the Emperor's son, Hal Tara, that his father was murdered by an enemy clan, Hal sets out on a perilous quest seeking revenge. Elements of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings are obvious even in this brief synopsis, but this offbeat Danish production—the brainchild of director Anders Ronnow Klarlund and master puppeteer Bernd Ogrodnik—isn't exactly kid-stuff, featuring the kind of violence and lusty vitality one might expect from a staging of Titus Andronicus. The whole thing has been impeccably produced and beautifully photographed on puppet-sized sets, and the sheer novelty of it all (including the odd decision to leave the marionettes with unmoving mouths) will surely intrigue fantasy fans looking for something new and unusual. Most others, however, will find Strings strangely uninvolving. Optional. (J. Shannon)