Miracle at St. Anna
Vivian Gil
Director Spike Lee brings us a
story by New York Times bestseller James McBride. Miracle at St. Anna
follows four Buffalo Soldiers from the Army’s Negro 92nd Division during World
War II. After they cross over German lines, the Buffalo soldiers find refuge in
a small Tuscan village. Fighting a war for a country that doesn’t respect them,
the soldiers manage to find solace in the unlikely peasant village. Although
they are fighting along Buffalo soldiers, the white American soldiers still experienced
racist feelings towards their fellow comrades. On the other side, is the
Buffalo soldiers’ unfamiliar friendships with those of white skin. The film
stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, and Omar Benson Miller as the
African American soldiers.
Along with tackling the racial tensions that occurred in the
period, Lee tiptoes around the mysterious and unexplained. After finding the head of a statue, the
soldiers begin to experience life or death situations and prevail numerous
times. They begin to treat the head as a superstitious magical power. When one of the soldiers rescues a little
boy (Matteo Sciabordi), the boy returns the favor by helping them in inexplicable
ways. It becomes a war movie with a touch of fantasy.
Lee confronts a side of war that is often never portrayed:
the African America point of view. He not only tackles a difficult story, but
also shoots in an exhilarating way. With slow death scenes yet quick transitions,
he leaves you no time to mourn the losses until the final shot that scans over
the dead bodies so you can take in the full effect.
The film does struggle with length and fluency. At around
160 minutes you have to make a conscious effort to focus on the story. Different
sub plots occur that intertwine and it becomes difficult to keep track of them
all. But in the end, the movie captures an emotional story with lead characters
that hardly ever get their story told in Hollywood.
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