Strings (2004)

Rating: 46
Synopsis: A king commits suicide because he feels that he has failed to bring peace to his people. He leaves the throne to his son, but his evil brother makes it look like he was murdered by the king of a neighboring nation, thus instigating a state of war between the two nations.
Appraisal: I will probably be one of the very few people to say bad things about this film, perhaps because it comes in a format that seems to inspire immediate, inconditional reverence. I mean, who could not like an epic story staged with wooden puppets that are nicely carved and masterfully handled?
My objection to this movie is that if you seriously consider its plot (and some people won't because, you know, it's just a film with puppets, for chrissakes...) you will see that it is unhealthily unrealistic. It is impossible not to notice the similarities of the story with many current global events. According to IMDb, the director himself stated that he wanted to make a movie about 9/11 in a fantasy framework. Thence the evil nation that invents an enemy in order to make a war that will serve his own agenda of world domineering. The other nation in the movie, that initially is seen as bad and then is revealed as a victim of oppression and as having been expelled from their native land, is obviously a reference to the Palestinian people. All these very strained correspondences with the real world should be taken for what they're worth; of course reality has many nuances that are not present in this story. Unfortunately, even as a hypothetical, very simplified political drama it is hard to swallow.

**MILD SPOILERS AHEAD**

The heir to the throne eventually discovers the fiendish plot and embraces all the claims of the oppressed nation, out of love for a woman. The compliance of all of his people to that decision is taken for granted, and not a word is spoken. An ethereal message of universal interdependence is issued, and everything ends well.

*** END OF SPOILERS***

Summing it up, I was a little put off by the film's fairy tale approach to serious contemporary issues.