DVD Review of Miracle at St. Anna
Spike Lee’s Spin on World War II, Starring Derek Luke
© Cody Roy
Feb 19, 2009
In Miracle at St. Anna, director Spike Lee sheds some much-needed light on the “Buffalo Soldiers,” the African-American 92nd Infantry Division segregated from the 5th Army during World War II. A faithful adaptation of James McBride’s novel, this film is Lee’s Saving Private Ryan, but unfortunately, his execution is hardly Spielberg-caliber.
Derek Luke and Company Holed up in Italy
In 1944, 2nd Staff Sergeant Aubrey Stamps (Derek Luke), Sergeant Bishop Cummings (Michael Ealy), Corporal Hector Negron (Laz Alonso), and Private First Class Sam Train (Omar Benson Miller) shock their white commanders by ending up behind enemy lines in Italy. They quickly take shelter in the tiny village of Colognora in German-occupied Tuscany, where they encounter a host of interesting characters. That’s the gist of the film, yet miraculously, Lee stretches this short premise into a very lengthy 160 minutes.
Spike Lee Juggling Too Many Balls
How he manages to do so plays out as the film’s downfall. Too many minor characters are granted substantial screen-time, and the number of subplots smacks of self-indulgence. Lee, for instance, needlessly bookends his movie with a 1980s prologue and epilogue. Stamps and Bishop vie for the affections of the village seductress Renata (Valentina Cervi). The folk-hero Peppi “The Great Butterfly” Grotta (Pierfrancesco Favino) and his gang of merry partisans sit around strategizing. And flashback within flashback, the slaughter at St. Anna is revealed, as are race relations back home in a Louisiana ice cream parlor.
If that weren’t enough, Lee adds Train’s fixation with the head of an Italian statue, a memento that he believes renders him invulnerable. He also rescues and befriends a small Italian boy named Angelo (Matteo Sciabordi), who refers to Train as his “chocolate giant.” As their relationship develops in great detail, it becomes apparent that Angelo has a mystic side that defies his age and situation. And finally, looming over this subplot is the question of where the child will end up when the soldiers leave.
Spike Lee Vs. Steven Spielberg
In Lee’s defense, however, there are some beautifully shot scenes in this film. The two battle scenes stand out, but the initial one is nothing short of breathtaking. As the 92nd Infantry Division crosses the perilous Serchio River, the enemy ambushes them, with German propaganda spewing from loudspeakers in the distance. The visceral impact arguably rivals Spielberg. But Lee is best when he does what he set out to do: examine the racial experience of the Buffalo Soldiers, which is epitomized by Stamps’ comment that he feels more free in Italy than he does back home.
So What Is the Miracle at St. Anna?
Still, these few highlights cannot compensate for Lee’s many flaws. Miracle at St. Anna, with its myriad subplots and minor character vignettes, somehow ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Perhaps this is the “miracle.”
