Some of the best movies ever made have centered on World War II. Its heroes, villains, atrocities and pageantry have played out in biopics like “Patton,” parables like “Les Misérables” and high drama like “Schindler’s List.”
The latest World War II film to hit theaters is Spike Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna,” which covers an element of the conflict which has rarely been explored in Hollywood. The movie follows the men of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division, known informally as the Buffalo Soldiers, who fought in Italy during the last two years of the war. The Buffalo Soldiers comprised the only African-American infantry division to see combat in Europe during World War II.
Like “Saving Private Ryan,” another World War II action film, “Miracle at St. Anna” is bookended by scenes from the future. In 1983, we meet Hector Negron (Laz Alonso), a New York City postal worker. At work one day, a man approaches Negron’s window and asks for stamps. When Negron looks up from his station and sees the man’s face, he fumbles around in his desk, pulls out a pistol and shoots the stranger, killing him.
From there the movie flies backwards in time to Tuscany in 1944, where two platoons of the 92nd are attempting to cross a strategically important river. The foray turns into a bloodbath as German troops surprise the platoons and most of the men are killed. Four survive, including a young Negron, and find themselves trapped behind enemy lines.
“Miracle at St. Anna” is a long movie, 160 minutes, and packed with plots, sub-plots and mysteries. It is an epic movie in terms of scope, but not necessarily size. Lee explores a wide range of human feelings and emotions, but does so in relatively intimate settings: an interrogation room; a command post; and the spare, dark rooms of an Italian villa.
There is also a strong element of fantasy, of strange, dreamlike occurrences in “Miracle at St. Anna.” Most of these revolve around the detached head of the statue of the Primavera, which the company carries with them as a good-luck charm, and an orphaned Italian boy, who is adopted by the most sensitive of the four men, Private Train (Omar Benson Miller).
The topic of racial injustice is also explored in the movie, and is most potent in two scenes. The first finds Staff Sergeant Stamps (Derek Luke) commenting that he feels a sense of belonging in Italy much more than in his native country. The second scene, which occurs after a flashback to an example of bigotry, is a long, unbroken shot of all four soldiers, Train, Negron, Stamps and Sergeant Cummings (Michael Ealy), staring directly into the camera, as if to force the audience to address their injury.
Whether or not you enjoy “Miracle at St. Anna” will have a lot to do with your level of patience with the subject matter and your willingness to negotiate the sometimes difficult blend of fantasy and reality. Those who follow the story to its conclusion and invest themselves emotionally will be richer for the experience. Those who give up toward the beginning of the film will have a long two hours and forty minutes ahead of them.
*** 1/2 out of ****
Also playing:
Rocky ***
No comments:
Post a Comment