Declaration of War
This is an incredible movie. Just imagine: two young people are attracted to each other, live together happily until they realize the child they have had happens to suffer from a particularly malignant brain tumor, a fact abruptly plunging them into a terrible four-year ordeal, leading them to breakup because of the hardships inherent in the situation, only to, some time later, make a film out of this excruciating experience! And not only do they write the story and direct (at least the woman) but they play their own characters as well, carefully replicating a reality that almost destroyed them. A move close to sheer madness. Well, miracles exist, since Valérie Donzelli (director, writer, main actress, makeup artist and hair stylist!) and her former life companion Jérémie Elkaïm (co-writer, main actor) have done just that with Declaration of War, giving an example that such a feat is within the realms of possibility.
They manage this achievement by immediately finding the right tone and by never falling out of tune afterward. A winning principle announced in the title Declaration of War, for both the characters are seen fighting instead of crying and moaning. This does not mean they never express their suffering but it is the dynamics of their struggle that is put forward, not the apathy their grief and anxiety are likely to generate.
Valérie Donzelli is to be given special credit for her inspired direction. Not only does she pour her heart and soul into the filming of this painful chronicle but she also proves imaginative and creative, making use of an amazing variety of registers, devices and techniques which wind up making this movie unique. A great shock, but a salutary one, “La guerre est déclarée”, both the sincere account of a personal drama and a talented work of art for all, is one of the year 2011′s masterpieces.
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