My grade: A Miracle at St.Anna Saw this last night at a screener. Two things one should know going in that I didn't know. One, the runtime is at 2.5hrs long and Two, about 2/3 of the movie is subtitled. When the Germans speak, they speak German. When the Italians speak, they speak Italian. The previews do not adequately prepare you for this but just like another well done subtitled movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon this movie overcomes this likely obstacle because it is so well done. However, that did not bother me as the movie was well done on all fronts. The cineamatography, direction, acting etc was engaging and engrossing. I was worried going in that as a Spike Lee film there might be some editorilizing or a side racial agenda pushed. I did not feel that thankfully. Everything that is done or said is done so in the spirit of the era the film is set and I don't feel the racial scenes/verbiage was sensationalized. I give Spike Lee props for this movie over the others I've seen from him. This is based on a true story of the black battle battalion called The Buffalo Soldiers. I knew nothing really of their exploits during WW2 so I found this account to be engaging regardless of how much embellishment might have occured on screen. The movie opens in 1983, flashes back to 1944 and wraps up with a flash forward to 1984. I'm not going to give a blow by blow account of this movie here in the OP. It'd be too long. I instead want to impress upon you that its simply a great film and Spike Lee deseres props imo. I think this movie is deserving of being considered for awards in several categories. If you like War movies, see this. If you like well acted movies but not war movies, see this anyway.
Hmm. I was considering giving this one a miss: so far, it's being panned by the critics. But the subject matter is of great interest to me, and if I keep hearing good word of mouth, here and elsewhere, I'll probably reconsider.
A panned film from Spike Lee is still worth a viewing for me. I'm definitely going to see this, whether it be this weekend or the next. I wonder if the critical response is as rooted in Lee's comments about Clint Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers as it is to the actual film.
I wasn't aware the critics were dissing the film until you guys mentioned it. I haven't sought out any reviews prior. So I went to RottenTomatoes and sure enough they are. I disagree with their analysis and issues with the film. The only thing I'd conceed to is that perhaps some time could've been edited out, but perhaps no more than 10 or so total minutes. I view the footage that is there as vital to the story. This is a movie I will buy on DVD and add to my collection. I'm curious about what footage did get cut out and if the DVD will have any type of historical features on the real account.
Valentina Cervi's 2 moments of fleshly exposure aren't reasons you should see this movie but I thought I'd mention it just in case.