80
Shot in the actual hospital where Donzelli and Elkaïm's actual son was treated for cancer, Declaration of War turns autobiography into thrilling expressionist art.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Amy Biancolli
What a treat to find a movie so bright-eyed and true - without a trace of bathos - in its depiction of such a harrowing subject.
63
Slant Magazine by Andrew Schenker
The surest sign that a filmmaker recognizes the insularity of his or her project is the presence of perfunctory attempts to hint at a wider political context.
80
Parenting relies on stamina as much as compassion, and Donzelli has, against all odds, crafted a genuinely moving ode to both the tenacity of filial love under extreme circumstances and the toll it extracts. Consider this a coup.
60
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
This isn't a therapy session on film; it's a visually stark, lively, organically engrossing movie with a very real handle on the mental processes, and interpersonal demands, that come with issues of life and death.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
An adventurous song selection and stylish narrative techniques put a strangely romantic face on a harrowing story that's a parental nightmare.
63
Although they are no longer together and are living their own separate personal lives, their story, fictionalized but still autobiographical, bonded them for life. Apparently, they are best friends whose dedicated collaboration was the only way they could tell this harrowing story. It's a brave effort any way you slice it.
65
Movieline by Stephanie Zacharek
Between the Truffautish voice-overs and Jacques Demy-style musical interludes, it's a wonder anyone in this sort-of drama, sort-of comedy ever gets any rest.
80
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
For all its quirks and tangents, Declaration of War feels entirely alive. This story of two people who transform fear into action is inspiring.