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.
Being that I grew up in the last generation to live in a world where the internet wasn’t everywhere all the time, I often wonder if kids these days still play war the way I did with my chums in the forest behind my house. A vaguely gun-shaped stick and a bag of pinecones were all you needed to be a soldier, and now there’s a movie that perfectly sums up that experience. I must see this film.
I Declare War comes out August 30, 2013.