Strings (2004)

Synopsis: The Emperor of Hebalon dies a dramatic death, taking a terrible legacy with him to the grave; for it is widely feared that the Zeriths, the Hebalonians’ arch-enemies, have fanned new heat into the... The Emperor of Hebalon dies a dramatic death, taking a terrible legacy with him to the grave; for it is widely feared that the Zeriths, the Hebalonians’ arch-enemies, have fanned new heat into the embers of the murderous enmity that has existed between the two nations from time immemorial. Martial Law is declared, and the heavy gates in the city of Hebalon are locked firm. No outsider can gain entrance. The Emperor’s young and untried son, Hal Tara, who is now the heir apparent to the throne, is charged with avenging his father’s death. Disguised as a common slave, he leaves the protective confines of the palace, and, armed with his father’s sword, fares forth to seek out the implacable Zeriths. A warrior is about to come of age. But Hal is unaware that his kingdom is threatened from within, where traitorous and malevolent elements are planning to overthrow him; nor is he aware that he has abandoned his court and his beloved sister to a cruel and perilous fate behind the city’s iron-clad gates. Hal’s companion is his friend and squire, the warrior Erito, and in the marshes outside the city he is confronted for the first time by the terrible legacy of his kingdom’s past history. In this no-man’sland, men who have their lives to the service of the Emperor eke out a blighted existence, crippled and reduced to misery after many years’ of benighted and exhausting warfare. As the fear young Hal feels within him grows, so does his hatred of the Zeriths. The web of hatred, revenge and lust for power is stretched to its limit when Erito’s and Hal friendship is severely tested. Back home in the palace, Hal’s sister and Erito’s wife have seen through the traitors’ stratagems and realise that their beloved husbands are riding into a trap. But the traitors hold the city in a grip of iron, and the two women are powerless to act. Their hands are tied. Hal manages to gain access to the Zerith camp, but he is no longer so sure who is friend, and who is foe. As Hal gradually starts to come of age as a warrior, he falls deeply and passionately in love – a love which proves to be as blind and unreasoning as hatred itself. It will take a moment of revelation before he is finally able to distinguish between his true friends and his true enemies. But it still remains to re-establish peace and justice in the land. A major new war is brewing, but the battle-lines are unclear – and behind lose lines there are both friends and enemies. STRINGS is a dramatic tale of adventure, bondage and liberation; of love and war, destiny and vitality, identity and common humanity. For not everything is what it seems in this land of adventure, where the threads of destiny are woven together by unseen hands, and where there appears to be a hidden connection between Earth and Heaven. -- © Official Site [More]

Director: Anders Ronnow Klarlund

Director: Anders Ronnow Klarlund