Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Cristina U — 27 Apr 2009

This has got to be the greatest disappointment when it comes to Spike Lee. For me, he is one of the most brilliant directors alive -he's offered cinema a plethora of masterpieces, but with Miracle at St. Anna...he misses the mark by far.

The performances are excellent -no arguments there. The beginning and ending also great -just a touch of bitter satisfaction. The cultural significance also worth paying attention to and it hits several humanity chords in each person -especially the ambush scene at the end and the scene at the church.

Despite all those, the film is literally endless. I saw it on DVD and had to stop it and resume it over the course of several days. For those who watched it in cinema it was probably a Golgotha to sustain through. Several elements could have easily been left out and still making sense. It's a movie that is self-righteous and self-important, it's extremely pointless and at the end it doesn't leave you with many things to work with. The emotional depth of some of the characters is lacking and several racial slurs are way too pretentious.

I only rate this movie highly because of Spike Lee's direction and several components that if viewed separately are worth it.