[2] Heart String Marionette is a tale about a child trapped in a box, a masked samurai mime, and a stripper who all try to defeat a warlord and an evil clown, who have successfully turned a countryside into a never ending nightmare filled with horrible monsters.
A weak voice cries out for help, revealed to be a boy inside the box, accosted by strange laughing statues with clown faces.
After that, we’re treated to a few minutes of establishing shots, music, and opening credits as Samhaine makes his way to the local warlord’s mansion.
A group of armed men are waiting in the entrance hall as Samhaine enters and presents a picture of the clown given to him by the boy.
But there’s no clown present, and the leader of the armed men mocks Samhaine as he struggles to remember who his brother is and what happened to him.
As the monster descends on her, Samhaine reappears, wielding the same sword that allowed him to return to life and wearing a different mask from what he had on before.
The two set off and encounter numerous bandits and monsters along the way, as well as a couple of children by the riverside singing a song about a little boy born without a face, his father having traded it to the Devil in exchange for immortality.
We also learn that the reason all of the puppets wear masks is because it’s believed that the Devil himself is roaming the land, and will steal your soul if he sees your face.
The two walk up to the front of a building called “Salvation Saloon” and are soon confronted by a group of men bedecked in crosses who claim that SiouXsie is marked for death and they intend to punish both her and Samhaine for their sins.
Samhaine easily wins and SiouXsie takes him to the other side of town to confront the creature these people seem to worship, called The Body.
Tatsuya releases his inner fanboy upon hearing this, relating the story of an old play known as “The Silent Form,” written by Samhaine Tsuke.
SiouXsie also wanders off and encounters the Waspwoman in a graveyard, revealed to be Samhaine’s mother, having been turned into a monster by Lord Wor.
Another demon appears, and Samhaine gives a monologue about hate before cutting it down, his sword now having his heart prominently displayed on the blade.
Wor agrees, and apologizes, saying that he’ll atone by burning down his mansion and abandoning the machines that give him eternal life.
Samhaine cries over his father’s remains before turning to bow to the people assembled behind him, and the astonishingly short credits roll.
One of the premises of Noh as explained by its creator Zeami is that emotion is more important than the ability to lay out a clear cause and effect story.
M dot Strange studied the principles of Noh as written by Zeami in creating Heart String Marionette.
[3] Voices are provided by Jimmy Urine, JP Anderson, Richard Grove, Asil Aceves, Tanja Björk and others.
Although created using simple techniques compared to many films with computer-generated imagery, (e.g. almost all characters are derived from the same basic figure) this movie has a professional aspect, due in large part to the results obtained through the use of Cinema 4D.