Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Todd P — 05 Sep 2009

We watched Miracle at St. Anna last night, the latest Spike Lee Joint. I'm going to say this...and those of you who know me know I'm a huge movie person and have been my whole life...I think it's time we start to universally recognize that Spike Lee is the best filmmaker in America.

Miracle at St. Anna is an amazing film. Heart-wrenching. Powerful. Educational. Inspirational. Shot beautifully like all of Spike's films. And of course, loaded with top-notch acting from well known actors and newcomers alike. How does Spike continually find these great performers?

Spike Lee's critics just don't get him. He's not just a storyteller, he's an artist. He's also non apologetic for his frame of reference, which is clearly evident in all of his films. No, Spike is not saying with this film that African American soldiers are better than white soldiers, or even that they played an equal role in WW II. He's simply saying that there are stories of Buffalo Soldiers that are compelling and part of our country's history and that we should open our eyes. Hell, maybe that's the key message of all of Spike's films -- open your eyes. (see the end of School Daze when Laurence Fishburne simply yells "wake up!").

Miracle at St. Anna is a great war movie, told from a different perspective. It doesn't preach -- it just tells a compelling war story from a different angle. Sure, there are a few stereotypes (the redneck American, the evil Nazi, even the big dumb black guy) but I don't think Spike is saying it was all like this and making some statement about racism -- rather these smaller characters enable him to build even stronger main characters. Oh, and by the way, there was a lot of racism in the U.S. military and surely there still is and frankly that racism was built into the system during WWII. Spike addresses this like he always does -- by having two African American characters struggle with it and express varying viewpoints.

Anyway, great film. Right up there with Spike's best work.