Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Jan T — 05 Mar 2009

Black veterans of every war from the Civil War to the present day wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been historically underrepresented in American Cinema. Miracle at St. Anna, Spike Lee's $45 Million, nearly three hour epic, while definitely a step in the right direction, is ultimately done in by it's flaws (both small and big) such that the film strives to be an historical masterpiece, but succeeds at being simply above average.

The film's Achilles Heel is the script, an adaptation by James McBride, author of the novel. Any time a director thinks this would be a good idea, he need look no further than the tragic example of Kubrick's Lolita penned by Mr. Nabakov himself. Scenes from the novel, which would allow the reader to pause and reflect on their symbolic meaning, fly past the audience at 24 frames per second, giving us little time for such introspection before being bombarded with further details of the film's intricate plot. Coming from almost any other American Director, one could chalk this up as a rookie mistake; but Spike Lee should have been mindful enough to save the story from it's self. It also doesn't help that he fully embraces the artistic liberties that McBride took in dealing with one of the most brutal massacres that Italy suffered during the war, although we can see, even through the somewhat schizophrenic storytelling, that this divergence is central to the plot.

Other than that, the film making is up to snuff with Spike Lee's finest. There's no razzle-dazzle, so to speak, but for period piece shot on location in Tuscony at under $100 Mil, you can understand why.