Remember running around as a kid with a stick in your hand pretending it was a machine gun? Or throwing a rock like it was a grenade? I DECLARE WAR takes the innocent children's game Capture the Flag and turns it into a realistic, intense battle between youths. The violence in the film is make-believe, but the drama and conflict between the children is definitely real. It feels kind of like a kid's movie from the 80s, like THE GOONIES or STAND BY ME, and it also reminds me of the 2007 British film SON OF RAMBOW.
Whenever there's children participating in a bit of the ultra violence in a movie people tend to get a little pissy, but obviously a film like this is more about what it's like to be a child and how serious a kid's "game" can get when you're young. Probably part of the reason why I DECLARE WAR hasn't had the much exposure is because it does have kids wielding crossbows, shotguns and all kinds of other weapons. But for me, it's just a film (and from what I've heard an outstanding one at that) that does a great job of reminding us what it's like to be a kid. Check out the three clips and the synopsis for I DECLARE WAR below:
I Declare War – Artillery by teasertrailer
I Declare War – If anyone comes, shoot and kill by teasertrailer
I Declare War – A girl and her crossbow by teasertrailer
Armed with nothing more than twigs, their imaginations and a simple set of rules, a group of 12-year-olds engaged in a lively game of Capture the Flag in the neighborhood woods start dangerously blurring the lines between make-believe and reality. Rocks = Grenades. Trees = Control towers. Sticks = Submachine guns. The youthful innocence of the game gradually takes on a different tone as the quest for victory pushes the boundaries of friendship. The would-be warriors get a searing glimpse of humanity’s dark side as their combat scenario takes them beyond the rules of the game and into an adventure where fantasy combat clashes with the real world.
I DECLARE WAR is currently available on VOD, but it will also be in select theaters starting August 30th, 2013.