Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Jason R — 11 Aug 2010

The emotional power that this movie could have had was lost to a certain extent by poorly executed dialogue. Much of the slang used detracted from the nature of the fact that this movie is a period piece first and foremost.

Visually, this movie is a feast, and executes itself well with solid set pieces and excellent direction. The battle scenes are some of the best I've ever seen. However, it never gets there emotionally, even in showing the well-documented Nazi brutality, and some parts are unneeded, unexplained, and contrived.

The racial element is overplayed, even for how important it is. There is no true "miracle," though there are moments with the boy that suggest something of that nature occurs on a subtle level.