Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
rsidberry
I never read the book the movie was based on. However; the advertised this book as if it would deal with the struggle of the black soldier with in the US Army. It only did this the first 10 minutes. The story is about some statue head and how this one soldier believed it was something special. The Germany soldiers win the battle but don't kill the one soldier who happens to be holding the statue head. C'mon! This would never really happen. This story sucks even after to accept the fact it didn't deal with the issue it advertised. This story is a slap in the face of any black man that has ever been in the arm forces and had to deal with racism! Damn you, Spike! Damn you to hell!
Theo Robertson
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
ironhorse_iv
I praise the real Buffalo Soldiers for what they did during World War 2, but I don't praise this movie. I feel for Sant'Anna di Stazzema, but I don't feel for this movie. The reasons why are clear. It wasn't that good. There was so many things wrong about this film, and so little good. The Spike Lee film opens in 1983 in NYC, where a aged Puerto Rican WWII vet Hector Negron (Laz Alonso), a bank clerk has just shot a customer at work. How on earth, did Hector was allow to bring a gun to work, and second off, what the odds of him keeping a old gun with him, just in case, he sees a old enemy in the past at a bank. The odds are very high, but with the movie title Miracle At St. Anna. I guess it can happen. A reporter Tim Boyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) ask Hector, why he did, and the story finally goes after 10 minutes in to WWII Italy, where Hector is part of the Buffalo Soldiers patrolling a Italian field while Axis Sally is ringing their ears from a loud speaker telling them the wrongs about United States and why they shouldn't fight against the Nazis. This was pretty interesting, and reminds me of somewhat of Jesus getting tempted by Satan in the desert with the role of Jesus as the soldiers. After a miserable river battle scene, where it showed most of soldiers just standing still getting blown up like idiots. Three survivors including Hector are catch behind enemy lines being lead by 2nd Staff Sergeant Aubrey Stamps (Derek Luke)- the smartest of the bunch. While Stamps is the only realish black soldier in the film, as the others are just amateurs actors acting like soldiers. I don't even think the actors even know anything about the military in the way they shot and act in the film. The real buffalo soldiers were not that stupid, they would have starting hauling ass to cover and set up a plan, these fools went around clueless shooting without being a team. The real buffalo soldiers were so disciplined, and well trained. In this movie, they question orders, not only from their white commanders, but between each other. Aubrey Stamps would be a better character, if only he wasn't allows fighting with Bishop Cummings (Michael Ealy), a walking racist stereotype who question everything, I mean everything. Not only that he is also a womanizer and very unlikeable character. Rather than trying to survive the war, the two of them are all after a Italian woman Renata (Valentina Cervi) they find, and fights each other on who get to sleep with her. Renata agrees to allow the four men to hide in their house in the village from the German, under the protector of the partisans lead by Peppi 'Butterfly" Grotta (Pierfrancesco Favino). While they are there, one of the soldiers Sam Train (Omar Benson Miller) saves and befriend a local child Angelo. Train is a lovable character, but I can't see him being a real soldier as the actor can barely move under his huge weight. Not only that, he's carrying around a heavy old Renaissance Marble head around as if he is Bart Simpson holding around Jebediah Springfield's head around. Angelo gives him, the nickname 'Chocolate Giant' and the relationship between them is charming as the boy believes in Miracles like the highly religious Train. Without giving it away, the ending to the film is emotional and it somewhat works within the plot-line. While the movie has a good story, it suffers from too many subplots with unexplained and barely development scenes. The language in the film isn't historic right. The slangs don't match the time period. Perhaps Spike Lee and author James McBride didn't see eye-to-eye on some things. While it's a fictional film, it's suffers from historically inaccurate. Saving Private Ryan is a great film largely because it has something to say."We all have a duty to something bigger than us." St. Anna doesn't do this. It has no central theme that is universal and true to the story. All it has is a bunch of scenes that say different things that are on because director's mind. St. Anna isn't suppose to about Spike Lees opinions. I agree with his opinions, but this wasn't the film that he shouldn't have made. Lee made them into overly presented stereotypes by having ignorant black soldiers, and arrogant and militantly racist whites. I don't think all blacks were ignorant, and all American whites were racist. A better, less racist director would have focused more on the actual story than his own agenda. I don't think this movie help overcoming the gap with racial tension in United States. I think it made it worst. I think he hurt, future filmmakers who'd love to see more Black American depictions in WWII movies by this film. That's why Private Ryan is and will always be the measure that WWII films try to reach, weather they admit it or not. If you want a good movie about African-Americans in World War II, watch The Tuskeegee Airmen or the documentary "Inside Buffalo'
