La guerre est déclarée

"If the premise looks dreary and distressful, that's the last thing Donzelli tries to evoke in her film, which is why, she over-dramatizes the most heartbreaking moments, viz. when the family members receive the bad tidings, to dull the edge of its pathos (their reactions are explosive rather than implosive), also by introducing Adam at the age of 8 (played by Gabriel himself) right out of the box, audience is reassured that all will be well. DOW plays up to the solidarity between Romeo and Juliette, and among their extended families throughout, meantime, it is also crucial to point up that even in the face of unforgiving adversity, people needs to offload their pressure and kick up their heels once in a while, an "open kiss" party could just do the trick, Donzelli and co. practice what they preach, seeing everything through rose-colored glasses, it is the Gallic spirit billowing out of the most arduous ordeal for a brace of young parents, a sentimental French chanson can just bob up at the drop of a hat, traversing different places to form a duet of the heart."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

a puzzle from many, many crumbs. subtle performances. a real story. and fascinating definition of love. a film about family. about hope, angry, relatives. about expectations, cries and decisions. about the innocence. and about the sacrifice as basic ingredient of fight. about lost feelings and too high expectations. about the reflection of the other in yourself. a special more than beautiful film. strange and delicate. convincing in a manner who has the gift to remind new forms of the well known things. a film as testimony. and as poem about a war who changes all. a war who transforms and becomes the map for gestures, words and beginnings. a film about a couple against the ambiguity of the evil, and about a presure's form who transforms everything.

Roméo and Juliette are young actors in Paris. They meet at a club, and fall in love. He has a single mom living with her girlfriend. She has a middle of the road family. The couple has baby Adam but they notice that something is wrong. The doctors eventually discover that he has a brain tumor. They are devastated and they struggle through the difficult situation.

For all the personal drama, there isn't as much tension as one expects. It isn't melodramatic but there are a couple of incidences where the actors feel like overacting. The drama is never that dramatic but it is a great little slice of life. There is no medical breakthrough or large world implication. The couple isn't doing anything over the top. It's simply life poured onto the big screen.

This film is the story of a couple whose only son (Adam) is diagnosed with cancer, but it's by no means a weepie, as from very early in the film, we learn that Adam pulls through. So, what does this leave us with? Well, perhaps more interestingly, the movie becomes more about Roméo (Jérémie Elkaïm) and Juliette's (Valérie Donzelli) struggle to stay together. With knowledge of Adam's safety in the bank, we can concentrate on the two main protagonists, and whether they will be able to survive as a unit.

The film is also scripted by the pair, and directed by Donzelli, and it must be said, they are a remarkable duo. Their on-screen characters are very likeably played, if a little saccharine sweet while they fall in love in the first twenty minutes. However, while some of the early musical interludes might jar a little, they don't feel entirely out of place with the scenario. Their relationship forms the beating heart of this movie though, and they play off each other beautifully, gradually winning the audience round, and permitting forgiveness for the conceit of their characters' names!

Bringing a rather sudden end to the romantic beginnings, new baby Adam arrives on the scene, and all is not rosy in the garden from very early on. Parents beware, the quarter of an hour that gradually builds up to Adam's diagnosis is as genuinely affecting a movie sequence as I can remember from any recent movie outing (and I'm only an uncle!)

And from there it becomes about coping, about managing, and about survival. As I said, the audience is blessed with the foreknowledge that the couple do not have, so we're in a privileged position, but as Roméo and Juliette soldier on, rising to every new challenge and facing up to every fresh heartbreaking piece of news, you are still right there with them. Their support networks too, play an important role in the movie, but really this is the story of Roméo and Juliette's struggle to survive.

If cinema is about escapism, then 'Declaration of War' will certainly transport you, placing you right in the middle of this young couple's lives as they battle with something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

I can't recommend it highly enough for lovers of French film, or possibly even just for parents who need a reminder of how lucky they are. It's bordering on stereotypical, picture-postcard French in the opening twenty minutes as the two central characters tombent amoureuses... but kind of suits the mood and is perhaps intentional. Two excellent central performances make it very watchable, but an excellent narrative device elevates this story from a traditional weepie into entirely more interesting territory. A real contender for the Oscar next March.

At the beginning, I didn't want to see this movie, even if I read it tried not to be just a sad movie about a couple and their poor kid suffering of cancer. The movie is sad, even if end in a fairly good way, but it's bearable. But it also shows that life in this circumstances should also be positive or least one has to make an effort to make the story positive.

Said this, this movie moved me almost to tears, imagining the poor kid, even if the movie never shows his suffering.

And it's a movie that shows normal people, with a normal life, facing a tragedy. It could also be a movie that shows again we never have to give up and loose hope, but well, that's a true statement.