Plainly speaking: I'm not a fan of Miracle at St. Anna. While I believe that Spike Lee's self-described "untold story of courage and brotherhood" deserves to be told - I don't think Spike Lee should have been the one to tell it. He shouldn't have been let anywhere near it. If you trust the dialogue spoken by the characters within, James McBride's source material was racially polarized before Spike got anywhere near it. Allowing Spike Lee to emboss it even further with his own brand just makes the film all the more intolerable to watch - ironic really, considering how forcefully Lee and McBride hammered the film's message of intolerance into our skulls with each and every frame.
Spike Lee still hasn't learned that you don't win support or - as Lee was aiming for - regret by preaching at the audience. But Spike Lee doesn't preach, I'd be lying if I described his approach in such lofty terms as "preaching". Spike Lee condemns. Spike Lee damns. For the two hours and forty minutes of this filmmaking atrocity, if you aren't a black man who served in WWII Spike Lee wants you to feel horrible.
That's a lot of people.
Spike Lee takes the story of the U.S. Army's all-black 92nd Infantry division as they find themselves under siege from the relentless Nazi troops and the incompetence of their own white commanding officers. The story would have been fine had Lee (and McBride) insisted on the overboard abrasive racial conflict which pervades every moment of the film.
The film's plot, as stated by both McBride and Lee in the Bonus Features, was to illustrate how these black soldiers, deprived of key human rights at home, went abroad and found the citizens of a foreign country to be more accepting than their own country. On this note, I agree with Lee and McBride as to the importance of such a theme being shown on film. These men were unsung heroes performing a duty under the most incredible circumstances. When a solider can't even rely on his own artillery to provide him with support - where can he turn? In Miracle at St. Anna you turn to a group of people undergoing the same oppressive regime you've lived under for years.
The idea behind the story resonates strongly with audiences of every age and race. The problem with St. Anna wasn't the underlying message. It was Lee's overt message which threatened to drown out all else.
Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, and Omar Benson Miller take the stage alongside more notable actors like John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Leguizamo who all take backseat in honor of the 92nd Infantry's notable legacy. Of the former four actors mentioned you might have noticed that none of them are really household names. The more film-minded folk in the audience will certainly recognize their faces - but the fact remains that Spike Lee drove the point home even with casting. Message over substance. Derek Luke and Michael Ealy save the film from devolving into an incomprehensible mess void of any real redeeming quality. Providing steady performances and elevating a near-worthless script, Luke and Ealy offered the only beacon of hope throughout the entire film. Whereas Laz Alonso, who we see at the film's beginning and end masked as an older version of himself, gives us nothing but a laughably horrible run for our money.
If I didn't at least value what Lee and McBride were attempting to do for these unsung heroes I'm not sure I could have made it all the way through. The opening scene is just so horribly executed (worthless makeup and acting) that I was tempted to click it off. Slight regret.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
"Deeds Not Words" Featurette
Spike Lee, James McBride and a handful of veterans from WWII (all black, of course) recount their stories of discrimination and hardship during their service. The featurette is easily more interesting than the movie itself despite being only a fraction as long. Even having to endure Lee's prodding questions and McBride's zealous "Spike Lee turned my book into a movie" puppy dog eyes doesn't hurt as much when there're real people with meaningful experiences to be recounted.
"The Buffalo Soldier Experience"
We're treated to a documentary in History Channel form concerning the famous regiment of the army known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Yet again, the extra proves itself more valuable than the feature film it accompanies by giving meaningful testimony from living soldiers. This may be the first DVD or Blu-ray I've watched where the main feature looked worse in comparison to its supplementary materials.
If you like Spike Lee - you already know it and if so you think his suffocating style to be anything but. In which case the film is critic proof to you and you, assuming you read this, disagreed with my negative slant on the director. For the rest, you can sleep sound without ever having watched Miracle at St. Anna there's nothing here worth noting. Sure it has a purpose that we ought respect but the purpose was outdone by Spike Lee's inability to put political outrage aside and film the feature as a solid period piece war epic. Talk about ruining a good concept.
"Miracle at St. Anna" is on sale February 10, 2009 and is rated R. Action, Drama, War. Directed by Spike Lee. Written by James McBride. Starring Derek Luke, John Leguizamo, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Kerry Washington, DB Sweeney.
