Strings (2004 film)

Strings is a 2004 animated fantasy film directed by Anders Rønnow Klarlund about the son of an ostensibly assassinated ruler who sets out to avenge his father but through a series of revelations comes to a much clearer understanding of the conflict between the two peoples concerned. An international co-production by Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom, the film was made with marionettes and the strings are part of the fictional world as life strings.

Strings
Directed by	Anders Rønnow Klarlund
Written by	Naja Marie Aidt
Story by	Anders Rønnow Klarlund
Produced by	Niels Bald
Starring	Jens Jacob Tychsen Iben Hjejle Henning Moritzen Jesper Langberg
Cinematography	Kim Hattesen Jan Weincke
Edited by	Leif Axel Kjeldsen
Music by	Jørgen Lauritsen
Production companies	BOB Film Sweden AB Bald Film Film and Music Entertainment Mainstream ApS Nordisk Film Radar Film Sandrew Metronome Distribution Zentropa Entertainments
Distributed by	SF Film Avex Inc. (Japan)
Release dates	4 September 2004 (2004-09-04) (Venice) 27 May 2005 (2005-05-27) (United Kingdom) 5 September 2005 (2005-09-05) (Denmark) 28 April 2007 (2007-04-28) (Japan)
Running time	91 minutes
Countries	Denmark Sweden Norway United Kingdom
Languages	Danish English
Budget	€3.4 million

The world of Strings

The fact that the characters are played by marionettes is incorporated into the film's fictional universe. That is, the characters are literally marionettes. Wide shots of the countryside reveal millions of strings stretching endlessly into the sky, each one representing an individual on earth. Nobody knows how far the strings reach or who is controlling them. As far as the characters know, the strings are controlled by a higher power.

When a string attached to a moveable limb is severed, it is analogous to amputation; the individual loses the ability to use that body part. Once a string is cut nothing can repair it or bring back to life whatever it was attached to. If the "head string" is cut, it results in permanent death.

Since nothing can reanimate a body part after its string is cut, repairs to injured individuals must be made using healthy, unsevered parts. An unfortunate collection of poor people and prisoners is kept as a donor class. When a person of royalty or other social importance loses a body part, another is involuntarily taken from a prisoner and replaced with its string intact.

Prisons are designed around the fact that the strings reach up endlessly into the sky. Rather than cells, the prisoners are confined underneath huge horizontal grids, and the range of mobility allowed by their strings is limited by small square openings in the grid through which the strings are inserted and locked within.

Instead of giving birth, a couple fashions a new child out of wood. After an unspecified amount of time, a set of luminous new strings gently descends from the sky and is quickly attached to the inanimate infant by the parents. This act immediately and miraculously endows the inert wooden figure with life.

Later, it is also revealed that some people have discovered the ability to "leap" incredible distances and effectively fly for a short time; essentially this is analogous to the puppeteer jerking on the marionette's string and making it soar through the sky. It is only when the protagonist understands the unity of all living things, and the power of love, that he is able to acquire the skill.

Plot

A son of a ostensibly assassinated ruler sets out to avenge his father but through a series of revelations comes to a much clearer understanding of the conflict between the two peoples concerned.

Voice cast

Character	Danish	Swedish	English	Japanese
Hal	Jens Jacob Tychsen	Jonas Karlsson	James McAvoy	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Zita	Iben Hjejle	Melinda Kinnaman	Catherine McCormack	Miki Nakatani
Kahro	Henning Moritzen	Gösta Bredefeldt	Julian Glover	Masachika Ichimura
Nezo	Jesper Langberg	Sten Ljunggren	Derek Jacobi	Masatō Ibu
Ghrak	Jens Arentzen	Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl	Ian Hart	Shingo Katori
Jhinna	Marina Bouras	Jasmine Heikura	Claire Skinner	Yūka (actress)
Erito	Søren Spanning	Niklas Falk	David Harewood	Gekidan Hitori
Elke	Pernille Højmark	Marika Lagercrantz	Samantha Bond	Keiko Toda
Agra	Paul Hüttel	Måns Westfelt	Michael Culkin	Katsuya Kobayashi
Daya	Ida Hilario Jønsson	Hilda Zuber	Alexandra Knapp
Xath	Lukas Rønnow Klarlund	Axel Zuber	Oliver Golding
Lo	Rasmus Botoft	Jimmy Endeley

Production

Production on the film began in 2000 and spanned over four years until its release in 2004. Over 200 people worked on the film with a budget of four million euros.

Accolades

Awards and nominations
Ceremony	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
Ale Kino! - International Young Audience Film Festival 2005	Golden Poznan Goat		Strings	Nominated
Emden International Film Festival 2005	Emden Film Award		Strings	Nominated
Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival 2004	Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation		Strings	Won
	Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver - Special Mention		Strings	Won
	Best Film		Strings	Nominated
Robert Awards 2006	Best Children's Film		Strings	Won

Release

The Japanese version was directed by Hideaki Anno, and the theme song was "Unexpectedly" by Misha Williams.

External links

• Strings at IMDb
• Strings at Rotten Tomatoes