Declaration of War (Valérie Donzelli, 2011): France

Reviewed by Angel Martinez. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Declaration of War was France’s submission to the Oscars this year, and is the latest effort by director, Valérie Donzelli, who also stars in the film, and tells the story of a young couple in love who have a child they discover has a brain tumor. Against insurmountable odds they show a resilience and strength that is not only inspiring, but that most people would not be able to garner if faced in the same situation.

All it takes is a look into each others eyes, its love at first sight. Our main characters, Romeo and Juliette, the same names of Shakespeare’s ill fated lovers, discover each other at a party amongst blaring music and a sea of others. Light-hearted flirting soon evolves into a full fledged relationship, and this new perfect relationship soon brings forth a child, but from the start there are signs that Adam is not a normal child. At night Adam cries, and during the day we find that he tends to vomit a lot, his parents attempt to comfort him, but the symptoms continue. Worried, they take the newborn to the doctor only to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with young Adam, but later, when more serious symptoms arise, this time in the form of a swelled face, no one can ignore that there is something serious at play here. From the start, this young couple makes sure to form the proper attitude that is necessary in order to defeat this disease. In the face of a horrible situation where things seem hopeless and frustration is in the air, they always manage to transform it into something positive by relying on one another through their great love for their child and each other.

One of the most interesting things about this film is the way that the aesthetics recall through several techniques many great French New Wave films of the 60’s. The formation of their new love, filled with vitality, is reinforced by primary colors that recall Jean Luc Godard’s film, Pierrot Le Fou, the narration and editing points to Francois Truffaut’s Jules et Jim, while some shots of Paris seem to be directly from the opening credits of Truffaut’s first feature, Les Quatre Cent Coups. The biggest contributing factor that the French New Wave provides is the air it provides though, where anything seems possible and everything seems plausible, the film incorporates various types of music into the film from classical music, to electro, to France Gall, and at one point, the characters even go completely into song like in Godard’s Une Femme est une femme. Still, it seems at times that these techniques come across as hindering the story rather than propelling it, and as a whole, manage to make the film feel unbalanced.

Overall, this very French film, in my opinion, does not weigh up to the classic films of the 60’s it references, but this loving and comedic film with a fine line between comedy and tragedy, filled with strong and warm acting, urges the viewer to live and love life, and definitely carries the same vigor of the classics that makes it worth watching.