Declaration of War (2011)

When their young son is diagnosed with a brain tumor, young parents Roméo and Juliette unite in the fight for his survival.

Director:

Valérie Donzelli

Writers:

Valérie Donzelli, Jérémie Elkaïm

Stars:

Valérie Donzelli, Jérémie Elkaïm, César Desseix

10 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Valérie Donzelli	...	Juliette
Jérémie Elkaïm	...	Roméo Benaïm
César Desseix	...	Adam Benaïm à 18 mois
Gabriel Elkaïm	...	Adam Benaïm à 8 ans
Brigitte Sy	...	Claudia Benaïm - la mère de Roméo
Elina Löwensohn	...	Alex - la compagne de Claudia
Michèle Moretti	...	Geneviève - la mère de Juliette
Philippe Laudenbach	...	Philippe - le père de Juliette
Bastien Bouillon	...	Nikos
Béatrice de Staël	...	Le docteur Ghislaine Prat - la pédiatre
Anne Le Ny	...	Le docteur Fitoussi - la neuropédiatre
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Le professeur Sainte-Rose
Elisabeth Dion	...	Le docteur Kalifa de l'IGR
Pauline Gaillard	...	Un narrateur (voice)
Philippe Barassat	...	Un narrateur (voice)

Storyline

Roméo and Juliette are two young actors. They fall in love at first sight, move in together and make a baby. A love story and the founding of a home like millions of others. Except that their little boy, Adam, behaves abnormally. The young parents try hard to persuade themselves that everything is okay but, with the passing of time, they cannot delude themselves anymore : their son has a problem. Their fears are unfortunately confirmed : Adam suffers from a malignant brain tumor. From now on, war is declared. A war against illness. A war against Death. A war against despair.

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Plot Keywords:

chemotherapy | child with cancer | cancer treatment | desperately ill child | child development | 

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Taglines:

All together!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

31 August 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

Declaración de guerra

Filming Locations:

Corniche, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,791, 29 January 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$46,225, 11 March 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rectangle Productions, Wild Bunch, Canal+

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The hospital scenes are played both by professional players and real-life hospital staff.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits start with: "Pour Gabriel" (For Gabriel) and "Pour les médicins, les infirmières et l'hôpital public" (For the doctors, the nurses and the public hospital).

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Connections

Features Liquid Crystals (1978)

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Soundtracks

O Superman
Written and performed by Laurie Anderson
From album "Big Science"
(Warner Bros, 2001)

User Reviews

simply life

Roméo and Juliette are young actors in Paris. They meet at a club, and fall in love. He has a single mom living with her girlfriend. She has a middle of the road family. The couple has baby Adam but they notice that something is wrong. The doctors eventually discover that he has a brain tumor. They are devastated and they struggle through the difficult situation.

For all the personal drama, there isn't as much tension as one expects. It isn't melodramatic but there are a couple of incidences where the actors feel like overacting. The drama is never that dramatic but it is a great little slice of life. There is no medical breakthrough or large world implication. The couple isn't doing anything over the top. It's simply life poured onto the big screen.