Great Film overall

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Not sure what is the point of the story. It is strange and complex. Germans are the top bad but few characters are all bad or all good. There are resistants, italian town with a lovely one, boy rescued, and plenty of murders, and one massacre. Some of it rings true but a lot of the story seems off, like a strange dream.

I can't say enough about this movie. Firstly, your dealing with the people who (since day day one) always play the part of pawn, cannon fodder and war dog. Often found walking point, cleaning toilets, fixing trucks you find the black guys in the military. But when it counts in "the clutch" and lives are on the line it's when these men have often risen above the rest. So as the cream rises to the top this move is rich with STORY (you know lacking in most movies any longer).Intertwined storytelling and excellent dialogue makeup the bulk of the acting scenes. The lighting, coloring schemes and overall appearance are lively and always seem to provide wonderful depth. Often I was surprised at how playful the soundtrack and audio was for this film considering rather dark content (no not the actors you racists).But with high caliber props, thoughtful and expertly filmed action sequences (on par with anything I call a keeper for my collection), vehicles and WWII memorabilia. Enough eye candy for any WWII buff. The high points for me are literally too many to nail down. I am not lying when I say it was as "pretty" as "Band of Brothers" with the acting (spoken dialogue) of a top notch mafia movie; all executed so very well, bravo guys! I would honestly love to see many many more black guy war movies (IT'S ONLY FAIR Hollywood!)- Budget is important and so is teamwork. This film to me represents something that could kick off top grade future movies with heart, bravery and lovable moments. Time to find more moves by this director and team! Oh me? - White 40-50, Denver, Colorado, Pot Smoker and lover not a fighter :)

Spike lee ? Rings a bell somewhere . Let me guess . He's the black writer/director who basically single handedly proved that if you've got ambition and talent in America you can pursue the American dream very well . Started off making low budget indie features that cost very little , got met with great critical acclaim and spearheaded independent film making in general and independent black film making in particular . I'm just trying to think when was the last time the name Spike Lee became associated with a movie he made . The only time I remember Lee's name making headlines is when he accuses other film makers of being racist . Indeed Spike Lee has something of an attitude that goes beyond parody similar to the militant black guy character from BALLS OF STEEL who sees racism in everyday life that doesn't exist . In many ways his career mirrors the last days of the Third Reich with shrieks of racism at every opportunity while blowing up bridges . It's safe to say Lee has burnt enough of his own bridges in Hollywood with his own shouting . If that wasn't bad enough his own film making skills indicate he's blown it anyway Films like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN , THE THIN RED LINE and FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS means you have to bring something new to the world war 2 genre in the 21st century and " Epic " is not the same as overlong . MIRACLE AT ST ANNA isn't an epic war film , merely a very overlong one and shows the faults of what happens when you give too much resources and budget to someone whose roots are in indie cinema The film starts in New York in 1983 where a war veteran who is black watches John Wayne in THE LONGEST DAY and bitterly laments that " I fought for this country too " . Maybe a bad idea to include John Wayne as a fellow war veteran of the second world war since he never actually fought in the war , perhaps a better choice might have been James Stewart even though he was in the USAAF or Richard Todd even though he was British or Rod Steiger even though he was in the US Navy but there was plenty of decorated war heroes who were movie stars none of whom were John Wayne The story then cuts to the post office where a man with a foreign accent asks for a stamp , stops to stare in amazement at the cashier then is shot dead by him . Later a newspaper reporter turns up at the crime scene and a detective takes him back to the cashier's flat where he finds a head of a female statue who turns out to be worth millions of dollars . This makes headlines across he world including Italy where due to a couple having an argument an Italian man finds this headline suddenly appear on his table Baring in mind the title of this film miracles do indeed happen . In fact they happen all the time in the first half hour of the movie so much so that if something miraculous doesn't happen then it is a miracle of sorts . One can't even begin to describe the contrived nature of all this and considering the audience are supposed to be watching a war film New York in 1983 isn't much of a battlefield , not unless you're watching DEATH WISH 3 . Thankfully Lee then has the decency to have a flashback to Italy 1944 half an hour in to the running time which now means we have two hours and ten minutes to go before the end credits This quickly sums up everything that's wrong with the movie . There's enough material here to keep a studio executive in work for a whole decade which has been the exact problem with every Spike Lee movie since the turn of the century . There is a total lack of brevity to the storytelling and every single overlong scene is accompanied with the most intrusive and manipulative music possible . THE MIRACLE OF ST ANNA flopped at the cinema and no doubt Lee will scream he's a victim of some sort of prejudice but the truth is that people are - regardless of ethnic background - prejudiced against overlong , manipulative , boring movies which MIRACLE OF ST ANNA is

Already at the very beginning you understand that this is not your typical WW2 war movie. It can more be described as a drama film with a war setting, and maybe Spike Lee should have focused even more on the characters and their relationships rather than the war setting. To me, the absolute low points of the film are the action sequences that sometime makes you feel that you are looking at a war movie from the 50's or 60's, with the typical German soldier flaying their arms and falling of rooftops. Very strange. Very out-of-place with the otherwise quite serious tone of the film.The characters and the story itself, with the focus on black Americans during the war I found quite interesting, and probably it is still a relevant subject even though I think Lee's usage of stereotypes is a bit too obvious.Overall the quality of the film is OK. Personally I found it a bit too long but the acting was decent and both photo and sound was pleasing. If you are a WW2 buff and seriously into war films you will most likely get annoyed over some historical inaccuracies as well as sub-par action sequences. For the rest of you, it could be worth a Sunday afternoon.