Valerie Donzelli very quickly found the right way to the heart of the French audience. She is almost always engaged in directing and plays the main role in her own works, and certainly in tandem with her ex-husband Jeremi Elkaim. And I understand why they still do everything together. Just watch their second feature film and it becomes obvious that people who have gone through such a difficult situation together will forever remain soulmates and will support each other in everything. Most of all in Donzelli’s films, it is sincerity and autobiography that catches. She never calls herself an actress or a director, but just a person who has something to tell the audience, who has a desire to share his experience.
I Declare War is the story of a young married couple who go through every parent’s worst nightmare. Their newborn son Adam has cancer. A malignant tumor was found in his brain. The script is completely autobiographical. Valerie and Jeremiah did face such calamity, but continued to fight for their child's life and their own. Such parents can be admired because they have come a hard way together, hand in hand, as a real family, as a loving spouse. It does not matter what further their life paths diverged, but they still did not break under the yoke of domestic problems. I like that they did not become depressed, as is always the case in life, but believed in a miracle that they soberly assessed the situation and thought primarily in the interests of the child. Therefore, the film was not gloomy and tear-pressing, but life-affirming, making you believe in a happy ending.
I have a problem with directing. First, the narrator's voice seemed inappropriate. It seems that this is quite a real film without effects and tinsel, and this voiceover made a real story of some fairy tale. Second, too much confusion, to my taste. That is, the director sets a minor mood, and after a minute again the fun pours over the edge. I’m not a big fan of movies that have serious themes. As for acting, Jeremi Elkaim was more impressed. Especially when he heard the news on the phone. Valerie Donzelli can also be praised. At least for her philosophical attitude to life. I live by the same principle, because we are the ones who can overcome it. Of course, there are other emotional episodes, which is not surprising when it comes to children and such terrible diseases. In general, there was a pleasant impression of the film and the desire to get acquainted with other projects of this French star couple.
6 out of 10