gregking4 Review of I Declare War

I Declare War (I) (2012)

a disturbing but original parable - Platoon meets Lord Of The Flies

[7/10 · 27 August 2013]

The Dirty Dozen and Platoon meets Lord Of The Flies? In a forest, a group of 12-year old boys play a game of Capture The Flag. The rules of this war game are fairly simple - the general gets to pick his own team; the base cannot be moved; when you are shot you must wait a certain period of time before rejoining; if killed by a grenade you go home; and whoever captures the enemy's flag wins the game. PK (Gage Munroe, from TV series Justin Time, etc) is a skilled tactician with knowledge of military strategies and he has never lost a war game. But this time there is another dynamic at play as simmering animosities, deep seeded resentments, jealousies and petty rivalry surface and ensure that the war game turns nasty. The fine line between imagination and fantasy and bloody reality become blurred. And the introduction of a girl into one of the teams this time brings in an air of sexual tension and jealousy. I Declare War is a disturbing but original parable that shows what happens to children's games when the rules break down and there is an absence of parental supervision. Writer/director Jason Lapeyre and co-director Robert Wilson explore many of the usual tropes of the adolescent coming of age drama, and mix them with the masculine themes and violence of a war movie. Although the boys are playing with sticks and balloons, the film makers occasionally show them with real weapons. There is a dark, vicious undercurrent of humour running through the material. The performances of the young cast are impressive, with Monroe a standout as the driven PK. Michael Friend is wonderful as the psychotic and sadistic Skinner, who has taken command of the rival army and is determined to win at all costs. This is a thought provoking film that deserves a broad release.