Miracle at St. Anna (2008)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I can't say enough about this movie. Firstly, your dealing with the people who (since day day one) always play the part of pawn, cannon fodder and war dog. Often found walking point, cleaning toilets, fixing trucks you find the black guys in the military. But when it counts in "the clutch" and lives are on the line it's when these men have often risen above the rest. So as the cream rises to the top this move is rich with STORY (you know lacking in most movies any longer).Intertwined storytelling and excellent dialogue makeup the bulk of the acting scenes. The lighting, coloring schemes and overall appearance are lively and always seem to provide wonderful depth. Often I was surprised at how playful the soundtrack and audio was for this film considering rather dark content (no not the actors you racists).But with high caliber props, thoughtful and expertly filmed action sequences (on par with anything I call a keeper for my collection), vehicles and WWII memorabilia. Enough eye candy for any WWII buff. The high points for me are literally too many to nail down. I am not lying when I say it was as "pretty" as "Band of Brothers" with the acting (spoken dialogue) of a top notch mafia movie; all executed so very well, bravo guys! I would honestly love to see many many more black guy war movies (IT'S ONLY FAIR Hollywood!)- Budget is important and so is teamwork. This film to me represents something that could kick off top grade future movies with heart, bravery and lovable moments. Time to find more moves by this director and team! Oh me? - White 40-50, Denver, Colorado, Pot Smoker and lover not a fighter :)

I wish IMDb still had their discussion board because I would like to discuss this movie. First off I doubt this movie was meant to be a docudrama. They just instilled a story to the factual event. I am not a Spike Lee fan but I liked this movie and think it was one of Spikes best works. I like movies that evoke feeling and this movie did lots of that. Yes it could have been better but I can almost say that about every movie I have ever viewed. All in all I really enjoyed Miracle at St Anna.

Spike lee ? Rings a bell somewhere . Let me guess . He's the black writer/director who basically single handedly proved that if you've got ambition and talent in America you can pursue the American dream very well . Started off making low budget indie features that cost very little , got met with great critical acclaim and spearheaded independent film making in general and independent black film making in particular . I'm just trying to think when was the last time the name Spike Lee became associated with a movie he made . The only time I remember Lee's name making headlines is when he accuses other film makers of being racist . Indeed Spike Lee has something of an attitude that goes beyond parody similar to the militant black guy character from BALLS OF STEEL who sees racism in everyday life that doesn't exist . In many ways his career mirrors the last days of the Third Reich with shrieks of racism at every opportunity while blowing up bridges . It's safe to say Lee has burnt enough of his own bridges in Hollywood with his own shouting . If that wasn't bad enough his own film making skills indicate he's blown it anyway Films like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN , THE THIN RED LINE and FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS means you have to bring something new to the world war 2 genre in the 21st century and " Epic " is not the same as overlong . MIRACLE AT ST ANNA isn't an epic war film , merely a very overlong one and shows the faults of what happens when you give too much resources and budget to someone whose roots are in indie cinema The film starts in New York in 1983 where a war veteran who is black watches John Wayne in THE LONGEST DAY and bitterly laments that " I fought for this country too " . Maybe a bad idea to include John Wayne as a fellow war veteran of the second world war since he never actually fought in the war , perhaps a better choice might have been James Stewart even though he was in the USAAF or Richard Todd even though he was British or Rod Steiger even though he was in the US Navy but there was plenty of decorated war heroes who were movie stars none of whom were John Wayne The story then cuts to the post office where a man with a foreign accent asks for a stamp , stops to stare in amazement at the cashier then is shot dead by him . Later a newspaper reporter turns up at the crime scene and a detective takes him back to the cashier's flat where he finds a head of a female statue who turns out to be worth millions of dollars . This makes headlines across he world including Italy where due to a couple having an argument an Italian man finds this headline suddenly appear on his table Baring in mind the title of this film miracles do indeed happen . In fact they happen all the time in the first half hour of the movie so much so that if something miraculous doesn't happen then it is a miracle of sorts . One can't even begin to describe the contrived nature of all this and considering the audience are supposed to be watching a war film New York in 1983 isn't much of a battlefield , not unless you're watching DEATH WISH 3 . Thankfully Lee then has the decency to have a flashback to Italy 1944 half an hour in to the running time which now means we have two hours and ten minutes to go before the end credits This quickly sums up everything that's wrong with the movie . There's enough material here to keep a studio executive in work for a whole decade which has been the exact problem with every Spike Lee movie since the turn of the century . There is a total lack of brevity to the storytelling and every single overlong scene is accompanied with the most intrusive and manipulative music possible . THE MIRACLE OF ST ANNA flopped at the cinema and no doubt Lee will scream he's a victim of some sort of prejudice but the truth is that people are - regardless of ethnic background - prejudiced against overlong , manipulative , boring movies which MIRACLE OF ST ANNA is

Let me first of all start by saying that Spike Lee is an auteur, in the same class as Woody Allen or Francois Truffaut, but depending upon the subject matter, this can work for or against you. He has an original way of looking at things and an original point of view to express. This is in full evidence when you watch the film 'MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA', which unfortunately fails to address its subject matter with the appropriate tone suitable to the massacre of over nine hundred people. There is a bleakness about the deaths of hundreds of people in one horrific incident that demands it assume the foreground and not the background.The experience of catharsis in the Theater is a communal experience. Such an experience reminds one that the word 'religion' is rooted in an earlier word that can rightly be translated to mean 'community'. Catharsis was meant in ancient times to purge the community of unwholesome feeling and to act as a kind of therapy to lift the mind to a state bordering on philosophic reflection. The aim was to free all of cloying emotion in such a way that the community could see Life as it is and yet feel fortified to go on with their own lives.Cinema does not aim or intend to achieve catharsis so much as it strives for a visual grasp upon the noumenal at its best, and the arousal of such kinetic emotions as makes one's heart race or causes one to hold their breath in its more commercial uses. However, an auteur will often roll the dice and find himself flirting with the phenomenon of catharsis in film and even rubbing shoulders with the noumenal. This has happened at times in Spike Lee films and been handled with varying degrees of success. 'MALCOLM X' did not get my last half of a star as a fully fledged four star movie because I could sense the ending was too celebratory and after seeing yet another black man sacrificed in the prime of his life and at the height of his powers for the sacred cause of greater Human Freedom, a moment of silence and more was probably most appropriate and fitting. The catharsis was spoiled by what seemed to be the attitude, "-alright! Let's boogie for the man!" and the reference to 'SPARTACUS' with the little African and African American school children declaring 'I AM MALCOLM X!' There were other shortcomings to this flawed masterpiece, but many of these were temptations any artist might succumb to and so Lee could be given leeway with them.'HE GOT GAME' ran to an ending that was more in keeping with what film can do and flirted with that concept of the noumenal. 'GET ON THE BUS' presented an interesting range of characters and came to a resolution that was really suited to its subject matter. 'MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA' was another opportunity for Spike Lee to stretch himself, but the characters are not as well drawn as in 'GET ON THE BUS', nor does the resolution leave one with the feeling of a full emotional discharge. One feels still 'worked up' as I did at the ending of 'MALCOLM X', although I could not deny it was a great show and a memorable experience.'MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA' is a wonderfully photographed and visually arresting film and yet it feels all stirred up without all its elements being properly rendered and clarified. Corporal Hector Negron's story, instead of bookending the film should have run intermittently parallel with the story building up to the massacre at St. Anna. This would have given the audience time to develop some background on the relationship between Negron and the Traitor. The shooting instead of occurring at the beginning should have happened at the end after the massacre and the formulaic Hollywood Happy Ending should have been eschewed. This would have been in keeping with the bleakness of the subject matter. Before all this as well, Director Spike Lee and Writer James McBride should have established for the film at least what 'the miracle' was going to be, as it should have been something a little bit more substantial that a half a dozen incidents that might vaguely suggest themselves.A few other things are worthy of note. One of the things no filmmaker has captured to my satisfaction is the sullen residual dignity I have often seen in the faces of particularly urban blacks. I have often seen them on the bus, coming home late at night from their work shift wearing no social masks and there is a visual beauty to that I have never seen captured on the screen. It is similar to the way Kirk Douglas was photographed at the end of 'PATHS OF GLORY' and the way the waiters in 'A FACE IN THE CROWD' kept their cool when Andy Griffith was berating them for not 'loving' him enough. Spike Lee even touched upon it a little in a prison yard scene in 'MALCOLM X', but as I indicated, it is not anger exactly, but a dignity that cannot be effaced by event or circumstance.The other thing is that the delight and glory of interracial romance is one thing, and properly treated it can have dramatic value, but it has yet to be approached with any real subtlety or nuance in the films of Spike Lee or others for anything other than shock and controversy. Here in 'MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA' it comes across as obligatory and yet at the same time as nonsequitur as it was in 'SWEET-SWEETBACK'S BAAAD ASSSSS SONG'. Unfortunately, the shroud of death should cloak this film because nearly a thousand people are about to violently lose their lives, along with four Buffalo Soldiers on the wrong side of an offensive.That deserves a moment of silent prayer more than a hymn or gospel song.