Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Erik G — 26 Jan 2012

In World War II there were heroes and miracles in Tuscan, Italy. In December 1983, when the elder Hector Negron is interviewed by a reporter after shooting a man at the post office and his wardrobe revealed the long-lost head of the Primavera statue, he recalls his role in the African-American 92nd Division "Buffalo Soldiers" that took safety in a small Italian village while they were caught behind enemy lines and surrounded by German troops. With him and three other soldiers is the eight-year-old Angelo Torancelli, a lone survivor of the St. Anna massacre.

Directed by Spike Lee, 'Miracle At St. Anna' features superior acting performances from the following cast:

1.) Derek Luke (2nd Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps).

2.) Michael Ealy (Sgt. Bishop Cummings).

3.) Laz Alonso (Corp. Hector Negron).

4.) Omar Benson Miller (Pvt. First Class Sam Train).

5.) Matteo Sciabordi (Angelo Torancelli).

Seeing 'Miracle At St. Anna' gave me an excellent impression that a troubled racial minority could show their nation their strength in the military when they fight in Nazi-occupied Europe, even though they would experience growing prejudice within the unit. But there is always help within the Italian partisans, though a traitor could foreshadow a key betrayal later on. The action and war violence here moved me a lot as if they were real. I hear of the film's controversy over the portrayal of the massacre's depiction, but I know it's not much of a big deal - Spike Lee was only using history while it was based on the James McBride novel. And I don't find it all that bad, right? An epic story that I'd call it the BEST MOVIE EVER in the war genre definitely goes down in history as a film classic - so to heck with the majority of critics who disliked it.