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Mary Pols, Time: VERY GOOD "...what makes this all not just bearable, but moving, is the emotional sincerity. Having lived through this in real life informed the performances, but onscreen Juliette and Romeo never seem like people reliving an experience." (Read the full review...) 853 words, 01/27/12 Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD (cg) "...an unexpectedly upbeat autobiographical drama made with French New Wave pizzazz... An adventurous song selection and stylish narrative techniques put a strangely romantic face on a harrowing story that's a parental nightmare." (Read the full review...) 85 words, 01/27/12 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: VERY GOOD (cg) "The film may be too upbeat, especially the ending, which is too easy and contrived. Yet there's real emotion here, especially in the first half, when they remember the feelings they were tortured by." (Read the full review...) 640 words, 02/17/12
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...an exhilarating race against time.... For all its quirks and tangents, 'Declaration of War' feels entirely alive. This story of two people who transform fear into action is inspiring." (Read the full review...) 626 words, 01/27/12 Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "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." (Read the full review...) 353 words, 01/27/12 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: EXCELLENT "...vibrant and heartfelt.... a very personal story for the very personal filmmaker Valérie Donzelli, who directs, co-writes and costars with Jérémie Elkaïm.... a self-referential but not a self-indulgent film." (Read the full review...) 652 words, 01/27/12 Kyle Smith, New York Post: VERY GOOD (cg) "...has it all: comedy, romance, fantasy, musical interludes and a child with a brain tumor. Wait -- what?" (Read the full review...) 245 words, 01/27/12 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD (cg) "The film may be too upbeat, especially the ending, which is too easy and contrived. Yet there's real emotion here, especially in the first half, when they remember the feelings they were tortured by." (Read the full review...) 640 words, 02/17/12 Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...turns autobiography into thrilling expressionist art.... it's a 'true story' that steers clear of aesthetic realism.... explores specific moments in the couple's struggle to cope with their son's sickness in microscopic detail..." (Read the full review...) 299 words, 01/25/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING (cg) "The actors project an ease and affinity on screen, and clearly some of that comes from the fact that [Valérie] Donzelli and [Jérémie] Elkaïm have ownership of the story: They wrote the screenplay together." (Read the full review...) 240 words, 02/03/12 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg) "The film was a huge hit in its home country and France's official 2012 Oscars submission. Puzzlingly, it did not make the shortlist. It belongs on yours." (Read the full review...) 272 words, 02/17/12 Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE (cg) "These aren't people living inside a sad moment. They've already lived it and survived. Now they're performing it. They're posing." (Read the full review...) 544 words, 02/17/12 Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD (cg) "...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.... Their story, Adam's story, is told with a frankness and empathy that holds us fast through the ordeal..." (Read the full review...) 329 words, 01/27/12 Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...movingly chronicles a unique and terrible fight... It's a long-fought war, and a grim one; you watch aching for them and hoping all will be right." (Read the full review...) 347 words, 02/17/12 Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD (cg) "...the film teeters uneasily between the story of a sexy pair who want to have fun and a child in dire peril, and too often the fidgety technique wars with the grave subject matter. Still, you can sense the deep investment the filmmakers have in what they're doing..." (Read the full review...) 155 words, 02/10/12
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...turns autobiography into thrilling expressionist art.... it's a 'true story' that steers clear of aesthetic realism.... explores specific moments in the couple's struggle to cope with their son's sickness in microscopic detail..." (Read the full review...) 299 words, 01/25/12 Alicia Potter, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...cinematic oddities (and one terrific toddler actor) lift the film above easy tears, and the outcome is never boring.... involving, and ultimately thought-provoking..." (Read the full review...) 145 words, 02/16/12 Alison Willmore, AV Club: OUTSTANDING (cg) " 'Declaration Of War' salutes its characters' capacity to step up and meet life's harshest unexpected demands." (Read the full review...) 397 words, 01/26/12 Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD (cg) "There's so much of everything in 'Declaration of War' -- so many unruly emotions... so many stylistic doodads and curlicues... that at any given moment, you almost don't know where to look." (Read the full review...) 926 words, 01/26/12 Andrew Schenker, Slant: MODERATE (cg) "A comedic drama about the stresses a young couple faces when their son is diagnosed with a brain tumor... there's superfluous narration, trickily employed ellipses, lip-synched sing-alongs, intercut Brakhage-like abstractions." (Read the full review...) 602 words, 01/22/12
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...an exhilarating race against time.... For all its quirks and tangents, 'Declaration of War' feels entirely alive. This story of two people who transform fear into action is inspiring." (Read the full review...) 626 words, 01/27/12 Ella Taylor, NPR: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...though it's certainly moving, it suffers from a frantically overproduced desperation to hold what the filmmakers seem to fear will be our wavering attention." (Read the full review...) 584 words, 01/26/12 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...vibrant and heartfelt.... a very personal story for the very personal filmmaker Valérie Donzelli, who directs, co-writes and costars with Jérémie Elkaïm.... a self-referential but not a self-indulgent film." (Read the full review...) 652 words, 01/27/12 Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: EXCELLENT "...a bittersweet tragicomedy.... profoundly affecting... a story about two pampered young Parisians who had to grow up in one hell of a hurry and deal with something dreadful..." (Read the full review...) 944 words, 01/27/12
Boyd Van Hoeij, Daily Variety: GOOD "The ultimate horror scenario of every parent, an offspring's diagnosis with a potentially fatal tumor, is tackled with effective filmmaking brio.... What sets 'War' apart from other countless disease-of-the-week movies is that it tells its heartfelt story in a lively and energetic style." (Read the full review...) 674 words, 05/14/11 Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Flawed yet alluring... sophomore feature from Gallic writer-director-actress Valerie Donzelli is an engaging though not entirely convincing portrayal of a battle that began when the filmmaker's infant son was diagnosed with brain cancer." (Read the full review...) 599 words, 05/14/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...vibrant and heartfelt.... a very personal story for the very personal filmmaker Valérie Donzelli, who directs, co-writes and costars with Jérémie Elkaïm.... a self-referential but not a self-indulgent film." (Read the full review...) 652 words, 01/27/12 Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (cg) "...likely to divide audiences... France's entry for 2011 Best Foreign Language Oscar.... a movie of some good moments, some deeply touching, others funny and heartbreaking." (Read the full review...) 332 words, 01/24/12 Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...an exhilarating race against time.... For all its quirks and tangents, 'Declaration of War' feels entirely alive. This story of two people who transform fear into action is inspiring." (Read the full review...) 626 words, 01/27/12
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