Miracle at St. Anna (B- or 3/4 stars)
WWII, 1944: 4 soldiers of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division get trapped in a tiny Tuscan village after one of them risks his life to save an 8 yr. old Italian boy in 'Miracle at St. Anna', directed by Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing). The movie is inspired from a historical novel that tells of the St. Anna di Stazzema church massacre (in which the Germans retaliate against Italian partisan activity). In 1983, the sculpted head from Ponte Santa Trinita (a long missing artifact) is re-discovered, and used as the main plot device for several characters in this film. What a beautiful, but overambitious mess Spike Lee has made. He throws in everything plus the kitchen sink (a bit too much of everything ... too many superfluous scenes). It also took a while for me to get used to the framing technique of 'Miracle at St. Anna'. But it's a film that needed to be made. And I'm ultimately glad to have seen it.
1983: a nearly-retired post office clerk commits a serious crime & is taken in by the police. When the cops raid his apartment (trying to find out why he did what he did), they stumble upon a head bust/sculpture that's been missing from Florence, Italy for ages. A hot shot news reporter interviews this postal worker in jail, where he divulges his wartime story of said sculpture: The Germans knew the end was near. Desperate, they turned against their Italian allies; resulting in subsequent bloodshed (3 separate times). In the middle of all this mayhem is Staff Sgt. Stamps, Sgt. Cummings, Corporal Negron, & Private 1st Class Sam Train (Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Negron, Omar Benson Miller) who were hiding in a small mountain village, waiting for extraction. Each man has an angle ...
Stamps is a good man; an able leader of his black group. He knows his white superior officer is a racist, but tries to keep his men focused on the task at hand. Cummings is a Ladies man. He tries to woo an attractive Italian woman in the village; I won't divulge if he's successful. He's a man who questions God, 'how can he allow for all this death & destruction?'. Sam Train is a large, jovial soldier who's affectionately referred to as the 'chocolate giant' by the Italian boy he saved in combat. And Negron has his keen eye on one Italian who looks to be up to no good. All 4 men try to make heads or tails of their situation. One remarks, 'I feel more free in a foreign country'. The others hear 'Axis Sally' remark that sexy women & racial equality await them in Germany. Everything culminates in a stirring climax in which the tiny village is bombarded. Though I won't divulge the outcome of this battle, I will say that the movie ends in a highly emotional (if manipulative & sentimental) sequence. I choked up. So sue me.
Now, many things about 'Miracle at St. Anna' irked me. Moments early on felt trite, even bizarre (involving the John Leguizamo character). Once the 1st action sequence occurs, the tonal shift is so sudden that I could barely keep newly-introduced characters straight for a while. While I enjoyed the sweet camaraderie btwn. Sam Train & the little boy (they lovingly overcome their language barrier); their subplot felt a tad too 'magical' for these proceedings. Speaking of subplots: there are tons. Most work (involving a brilliant performance by Pierfrancesco Favino as an Anti-Nazi Fascist). But some of the subplots were completely unnecessary (i.e., Germans planning to invade). There's a love triangle segment that screams 'soap opera'. There are too many one-note racists in the plot (we've seen them all before). Some of the dialogue is heavy-handed. The make-up job on one particular character is atrocious. I can go on, but I won't.
That's because there's SO much I liked, as well. The acting is solid. For one reason or another, you'll find yourself pulling for nearly every character onscreen. None of them are angels, but all of them have good intentions at heart. Most of the quieter character-developing scenes are well handled. There's a startling, stomach-churning sequence that occurs at a church (devastating, but viscerally effective). At the heart of this overlong, seemingly unfocused movie IS a wonderful human story. Yes, 'Miracle at St. Anna' meanders. Yes, it feels like it's begging for respect, at times. But there is more to recommend here than there is to vilify. Themes of life, death, racism, duty, camaraderie & honor ring true. Spike Lee can now say that he's paid homage to WWII's black unsung war heroes. Just don't ever cross Clint Eastwood again, buddy. You'll lose every time.
1983: a nearly-retired post office clerk commits a serious crime & is taken in by the police. When the cops raid his apartment (trying to find out why he did what he did), they stumble upon a head bust/sculpture that's been missing from Florence, Italy for ages. A hot shot news reporter interviews this postal worker in jail, where he divulges his wartime story of said sculpture: The Germans knew the end was near. Desperate, they turned against their Italian allies; resulting in subsequent bloodshed (3 separate times). In the middle of all this mayhem is Staff Sgt. Stamps, Sgt. Cummings, Corporal Negron, & Private 1st Class Sam Train (Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Negron, Omar Benson Miller) who were hiding in a small mountain village, waiting for extraction. Each man has an angle ...
Stamps is a good man; an able leader of his black group. He knows his white superior officer is a racist, but tries to keep his men focused on the task at hand. Cummings is a Ladies man. He tries to woo an attractive Italian woman in the village; I won't divulge if he's successful. He's a man who questions God, 'how can he allow for all this death & destruction?'. Sam Train is a large, jovial soldier who's affectionately referred to as the 'chocolate giant' by the Italian boy he saved in combat. And Negron has his keen eye on one Italian who looks to be up to no good. All 4 men try to make heads or tails of their situation. One remarks, 'I feel more free in a foreign country'. The others hear 'Axis Sally' remark that sexy women & racial equality await them in Germany. Everything culminates in a stirring climax in which the tiny village is bombarded. Though I won't divulge the outcome of this battle, I will say that the movie ends in a highly emotional (if manipulative & sentimental) sequence. I choked up. So sue me.
Now, many things about 'Miracle at St. Anna' irked me. Moments early on felt trite, even bizarre (involving the John Leguizamo character). Once the 1st action sequence occurs, the tonal shift is so sudden that I could barely keep newly-introduced characters straight for a while. While I enjoyed the sweet camaraderie btwn. Sam Train & the little boy (they lovingly overcome their language barrier); their subplot felt a tad too 'magical' for these proceedings. Speaking of subplots: there are tons. Most work (involving a brilliant performance by Pierfrancesco Favino as an Anti-Nazi Fascist). But some of the subplots were completely unnecessary (i.e., Germans planning to invade). There's a love triangle segment that screams 'soap opera'. There are too many one-note racists in the plot (we've seen them all before). Some of the dialogue is heavy-handed. The make-up job on one particular character is atrocious. I can go on, but I won't.
That's because there's SO much I liked, as well. The acting is solid. For one reason or another, you'll find yourself pulling for nearly every character onscreen. None of them are angels, but all of them have good intentions at heart. Most of the quieter character-developing scenes are well handled. There's a startling, stomach-churning sequence that occurs at a church (devastating, but viscerally effective). At the heart of this overlong, seemingly unfocused movie IS a wonderful human story. Yes, 'Miracle at St. Anna' meanders. Yes, it feels like it's begging for respect, at times. But there is more to recommend here than there is to vilify. Themes of life, death, racism, duty, camaraderie & honor ring true. Spike Lee can now say that he's paid homage to WWII's black unsung war heroes. Just don't ever cross Clint Eastwood again, buddy. You'll lose every time.