O Fio da Vida

Strings" is quite a unique and interesting movie going experience. This just happens to be one of those movies I had never heard of before that I ran across doing research, and decided to give it a shot. My biggest problem with Strings is that the puppets do not move their mouths, which made it a little hard to follow as the dialogue as it switched back and forth between characters. Once your able to get past that - this is really a beautiful little film.

A little over-dramatic but with some pretty high production values, "Strings" is unlike no movie you have seen before. The cinematography, voice overs, and set designs are well done and very pleasing to watch and to listen to all throughout.

One thing I enjoyed about "Strings" was the how the actual strings were incorporated in the movie. There is no effort to hide them. In fact, the strings themselves are part of each characters actual being, reaching all the way up in to the sky with the "head" string being the strongest and most valuable. Cut the head string, and your dead! Get a little to playful, and you might get tangled and need some help getting undone! Interesting little concept.

Strings is a fantasy story about a King who commits suicide, leaving the thrown to his son. When his son is lead to believe by his evil uncle that some outside rebels are responsible for his death, he seeks out to find them and avenge his father. In the process he goes on a magical journey, learning about life, love, war, and the fact that people and things aren't always quite what they seem.

"Strings" is a film that stands on its own two feet- apart from anything else out there. All in all, it's a very impressive piece of work- and a good family oriented film.

Recommended!

In the world of modern films showing you the realistic nature of violence, this film is a peaceful moment for your soul, allowing you to see the beauty of life. The story is neither complicated, nor exciting, but it's not a drawback. You can feel just by looking at the puppet whether he or she is "good" or "bad", and you can guess how the tale will end. We see a true tale, in an enchanted world of small details and simply-big thoughts: tears are rain, strings are life-force, freedom can be reached, loved ones are connected. We are falling into the screen, into this fantasy world, smilingly. People need tales. (Zita)

The king commits suicide, but his evil brother covers it up to make the death look like murder from a rival faction. The prince disguises himself as a slave to go out and avenge his father's death, but after infiltrating the "enemy" camp, begins to learn an alternate history of his people -- sometimes the good guys have a dark past.

This film was incredible. You very rarely see a film with puppets in it these days (or ever, really). Sure, there was "Team America", but I really found the puppeteering on that to be average and the overall film to be a waste of time. This one had a rich back story, characters with epic lives and a whole realm of fantasy that could have been real life.

I think of the movie like "The Dark Crystal". I don't know why, but I get a similar vibe from them. With one key difference: I don't like "The Dark Crystal". Other films could be compared to this, I suppose: "Lord of the Rings" to some extent, maybe "Willow", probably a hundred more. It had all the classic fantasy elements: a hero, a kingdom, love, betrayal, evil, an oracle, battles. Everything you'd want.

There was an underlying political message here, too, which I enjoyed although I don't know if I really got the exact parallel they were shooting for. But the idea that "we" are always the goo guys and "they" are always the bad guys when not viewed as people was very nice, and could be used to talk about America and the Middle East (or the Native Americans), it could be used to talk about Israel and Palestine, or just about any other rival groups.

The love aspects were a bit much at times. I liked the idea that our strings are all attached and that love really makes that stronger. I tend to agree with the sentiment. At times I think it bordered on hippie or New Age levels (my ability to digest peace and love only goes so far). But, it was never so much I became uninterested in the film.

If you want something different than your usual action or romance, give this one a chance. You might have to open your mind a little bit because it's fantasy and puppets and voice-overs (not just because they're puppets, they're also Scandinavian). I think you'll find a special treat in here. Really glad I had the opportunity to catch it at a friend's house, as I probably never would have found it on my own.

I watched this movie at the Norwegian International Film Festival, and I was totally blown away. The atmosphere, world and characters this movie introduces you to feels so incredibly unique and extraordinary.

The most brilliant thing, however, is the fact that instead of editing out the strings, or pretending that they're not there, they use the strings as a sort of...lifeforce.. If somebody looses their head-string, they're dead. This simple fact made the world seem even more real, and suddenly made the puppets into something living.

If I had to say anything negative about this movie at all, it's the fact that since the mouths of the puppets aren't moving when they're talking it's a bit difficult to get into at first. I found myself confused in the beginning as to whom it was that was talking, but I guess this is just the nature of movies that use puppets like these.

I couldn't recommend this movie any stronger than I do. Pray that this gets a US distributor, because as of now it's not picked up.

For all those who say "I'm too old for puppet theater" I can only say "Think again".

The story might not be the most original (though it is leaps and bounds more complex and consistent than most of the actual blockbuster) but the directing and effects are simply beautiful.

The original part in the film is indeed that the puppets know of their strings and live and play with them. As another commenter says, the film does not try to hide the strings, but it does hide the puppeteers. Part of the mystery of the film is where the strings come from (and here you have several great shots and effects).

I can only recommend the film, but I doubt it will run in too many big cinemas (I saw it in the Edinburgh Filmhouse)...