The plot is pretty standard fare; warring tribes, jealous brother usurps throne, young prince discovers his adversary ..... well, that would be telling wouldn't it. What is exceptional is the marionette animation, the strings of the title give life to the characters. When the strings are cut, the character dies. Great lighting and sense of theatre.
really unusual film, very evocative but I kept getting taken out of the film by weird practical considerations about the world they created at various points in the plot. I don't normally experience that as I'm quite happy to go with the flow and immerse myself fully, but perhaps this happened because it is so unusual in that they acknowledge the strings as part of their life rather than just ignore them which would be the normal approach
I would recommend watching it though just because its so unusual - not sure it would keep the attention of young children (and the plot is a kind of revenge tragedy with Shakespearean tones....), but anyone interested in film or animation would find a lot to enjoy and think about here