Review of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) by Kevin R — 07 Aug 2009

Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

In 1983, New York City is turned upside down when a post office employee, three months away from retirement, randomly shoots an old man who is just trying to purchase stamps. Things are further complicated when the police discover the missing head of the statue of St. Anna in the old man?s home. When a local news paper writer interviews the old man, he uncovers an unbelievable tale about Buffalo soldiers during World War II who were stationed in Italy.

?Go check out that hay stack. That shit is moving.?

Spike Lee, director of Inside Man, She Hate Me, X, Bamboozled, Summer of Sam, Girl 6, Jungle Fever, Mo? Better Blues, Do the Right Thing, She?s Gotta Have It, and School Daze, delivers Miracle at St. Anna. The storyline for this picture is marvelous and contains brilliant depth and tackles numerous issues. Lee also does a great job of developing the characters. The acting is solid and the cast contains Derek Luke, Michael Ealey, Laz Alonso, John Turturro, John Leguizamo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kerry Washington, and Valentina Cervi.

?I?ll give you a banana, chocolate giant.?

I adored Inside Man and was eager to see this picture when the trailers originally aired. This received positive reviews from professional reviewers while the reviews were inconsistent from RT reviewers. Upon seeing this film, I must say that this is a wonderful picture. The war genre is usually pretty limited and rarely contains original content. This film contains sequences that are unique and original. I strongly recommend seeing this picture if you are a fan of the war genre.

?The Germans were wrong to wake the sleeping man.?

Grade: A-.