Declaration of War (Valérie Donzelli, 2011): France

Reviewed by Christopher Connor. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Declaration of War is an emotional film by director/actor Valérie Donzelli. It starts off as a nice love story which quickly turns into a family tragedy. Given the nightmare they soon have to live in, we witness how the couple, and those close to them, deal with the situation to survive.

The stage is set in a noisy bar when the already doomed Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love seemingly at first sight. In no time, they are happily living together and having their first child. After trying to ignore some tell tale signs, life takes a tragic turn when they finally learn their young child, now a toddler, has a brain tumor. Rushing to and from hospitals the situation only goes from bad to worse and worse again. Despite it all seeming hopeless, the young couple, along with their families and friends, deal with the situation in a variety of different ways. We see how they grieve, but we also see how they go on with their lives. They celebrate the little victories over champagne. They make jokes about the situation before they go to bed to ease their fear. They play in the snow. They even break out into song. Although sometimes looking as if they are avoiding reality, which often times they are, we see how the couple and the ones close to them deal with an incomprehensible situation.

When watching Declaration of War, you can’t help but to be reminded of older French New Wave movies. You see it with the use of narration, the eclectic choices of music, and even the editing. One of the most notable instances is the use of primary colors used all through the movie, primarily the colors of red and blue. You see them everywhere and always in contrast with one another. The use of these colors really reminds us of Godard’s wonderful film Pierrot le Fou. In that movie you witness beautiful, vibrant, vivid colors and it’s not surprising that red and blue, again, are two of the most prominent. With all of these added up, you get the feeling that Donzelli is really showing us her inspiration from some of the greats.

The opening in the bar scene comes off a little too forced and occasionally throughout the movie, it seems as if  the director is a little unsure of herself. Although the narration adds that nice little French touch, sometimes it feels as if it is only there to rush us to the end because they had nowhere else to go. But, in this film, the good outweighs the bad, and by the end we barely think of the minor grievances.

Valérie Donzelli gives us a nice drama with bits of comedy evenly spruced throughout. With scenes that seem to only be acceptable in French movies, we’re taken through a couple’s heartbreaking journey revolved around their child’s sickness. With the two main characters, we see how dealing with tragedy isn’t just made up of being depressed and giving in, but to get through it all it may necessary to still laugh, celebrate, and even sing. Most importantly, we learn it’s still important to live.