I Declare War (2012)

the audience applauded

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I really wonder where the comedy part actually was in this movie, as stated in the genre section by IMDb. I rather felt sorry for some of the leading playing figures. I think that P.K. and Skinner would be very interesting study objects for aspiring child psychologists, and eventually could use some proper psychological assistance.On second thought I ended up watching 90 minutes at a cinematic display of a game played in the woods like scouts members still play. But in this case performed by a group of youngsters with a lot of dangerous imagination. It reminded me sometimes of "The Goonies", but without the pirate ship and without Chunk.At times the acting was very annoying and amateurish. All the characteristics of a low budget film were there : the same location all the time, endlessly running back and forth in some local woods, no expensive action scenes or props. Personally, I thought P.K. wasn't exactly a textbook example of a leader. He'dd rather gather in the group of most bullied boys at school.The concept is original. It shows how children experience the adult traits like hatred, jealousy, love, loyalty and friendship. In reality this could also lead to similar incidents, unfortunately. Only the effect is weak and makes this film a slow, boring and totally not emotionally touching film.More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

Plot of the film is kids play war, tantrums are thrown, somebody gets hurt. Though certainly watchable, this film leans towards mild exploitation rather than any serious social commentary or observation on childhood and adolescence, so if looking for something heavy like "Ratcatcher" or "Lord of the Flies" you'll need to look elsewhere. That's not to say the filmmakers intent was to produce any type of exploitation, I really don't know, perhaps they intended to produce some type of profound allegorical tale, one to cause serious contemplation. If so, judging by many of the reviews here they achieved that goal, so hats off. Myself, I did no serious anything after watching the film, but here are a few observations. When characters are kids, no one expects them to perform with sharp logic or reasoning, so many of the lapses in such can be explained there, but it's still distracting. Several things are amusing, though not sure if intended to be. The character of field commander Quinn is described by his opponent PK as a brilliant nemesis and tactician. If leadership quality includes crying and running home when one of your own grunts pelts you with a tomato, then Quinn is a regular Patton. PK appoints the role of chaplain to one of his less aggressive soldiers, a boy who attends church on a regular basis, and as is customary in film today, his faith is mocked throughout. Another of PK's soldiers is quite inquisitive, contemplative, aggressive even, yet he goes into battle forgetting his only weapon. Fighter, intellectual, or idiot, you decide. As I said worth a watch, though you might want to lower your expectations if you've read the many glowing reviews here.

I do not know what movie the other reviewers were watching because "I declare war" was 90 minutes that I wasted watching this crap. The kids repeatedly mouthing innate conversations while on the hunt for the enemy camp that no real kids would actually be saying. A so called wannabe military strategist General PK replying "no" when a kid asked if Napoleon ever lose a war, I guess the movie writer never heard about Waterloo.The only part of the movie that I found even remotely amusing was when the kid returned to the enemy camp where he had been tortured and overacted his death scene after being shot by the enemy camp kids.I believe this would have made a decent 30 minute episode of the new twilight zone. Anyone who thinks this movie belonged in the top ten movies of 2012 probably also thinks Spring Breakers should get a Best Movie Oscar nomination.

Caught a screening of "I Declare War" at CIFF. What a tremendous film! It really captured what it felt like to have a best friend during childhood (the sense of loyalty and exclusiveness). Those were the most intense relationships of my life, especially when they came to an end. I thought the casting was just right and the performances outstanding (some of the best child acting I've seen, the characters of PK and Skinner were particularly memorable). "I Declare War" also struck a great balance between lighthearted and more serious content. I was glad to see that the narrative did not descend into savagery (in the manner of "Lord of the Flies"). The humor added much. I absolutely loved the imaginary dialogue scenes between Jess and Quinn. All in all, the script was very tight and well thought out. Keep a look out for its theatrical release!