Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Ld P — 27 Dec 2009

Miracle at St. Anna (2008) Spike Lee brings the African-American wartime experience to the big screen. I have been trying to see most of Spike Lee's movies. He is America's greatest & most prolific black director/producer.

This is his most mature & complex film. For those not aware it is a EUROPEAN FILM (much like Tarrantino Inglorious Basterds) A majority of this film is in German and Italian language with English subtitles.

It is almost epic in format at 166 minutes. There is s quite a bit of introductory plot set-up; we don't get to the war movie (Italy, 1944) until the fifteen-minute mark. There's some good acting and intriguing writing in this prologue, and the corresponding epilogue that bookends the film.

Plot: In the fall of 1944, four African-American soldiers find themselves caught behind enemy lines & surrounded by German soldiers. They take refuge in a small Italian village that has been temporarily vacated by the Germans.

In their company in a small boy, obviously shell-shocked & feverish, who seems only to speak to his invisible friend Arturo. Tensions rise among the four men not only because of their life-threatening situation but also because two of them become rivals for the attention of an attractive young woman.

When they manage to make contact with their unit, they are told to capture a German soldier for questioning & with the aid of the Italian partisans, have a candidate. What they don't realize is that there is a traitor in the partisan group, one that will have major repercussion on one of the men 40 years later.

The soldiers make friends & enemies with the townspeople, which challenges the inherent racism of all involved. Lee's take on racism is unflinching in its bitterness, especially as it focuses on the segregationist thinking of white field officers and policies of our military.

The plot also has a last-minute detour into magic realism. Plot adapted from James McBride's novel of the same name is by McBride himself. It isn't a bad story; Some claim that the story is written in such a false & incredible fashion that undermines the film's credibility.

I disagree. The film has some plot & dialogue problems but I found it a story well worth being told. It is a story that needs to be told no matter the problems with the plot & storyline. Lee has presented us his vision & I accept it as such.

(But I do agree the story is one dimensional) The movie succeeds in that it actually fulfill Lee?s mission to address the absence of black soldiers from Hollywood?s portrayals of WWII. It?s easy to tolerate the films flaws and admire Lee?s unbridled enthusiasm.

There is much to admire, particularly the Italian neo-realism of the village sequences, the realistic cinematography by the great Matthew Libatique. Corresponding soundtrack is nice also! It would have been good to hear Lee discuss the choices he made in making this film, but in a seemingly bad decision, Touchstone has issued this DVD with absolutely no extras.

No commentary, interviews, history, no nothing. For a film of this importance, with such historical subject matter and large and varied cast, this is simply inexcusable. The ends left me confused somewhat, but watch this movie!! It?s worth it!! 3 stars.