This was our time to be children.~ Arturo to Angelo, Miracle at St. Anna
I'm not much of a Spike Lee fan, but when Miracle at St. Anna was released last year, I wanted to see it at the movies. It received some merciless drubbings from a wide swath of film critics and disappeared from theaters before I was able to get there.
I remembered it, though, and waited for the DVD. I watched it a couple of nights ago, and I'm not over it yet.
Some of the criticisms are valid. Yes, there is a bit too much going on in this film. There are too many story threads, too much self-indulgence by the director--even too many miracles, from what I could see. It's overlong by at least a quarter hour (although I didn't notice the time while watching it). Also, I found some of the race-activist dialog the characters engaged in at least a decade ahead of its time.
All that being said, I think it's a good movie. My criterion is simple. Any film that holds my thoughts long after viewing qualifies. Two days later, I'm still remembering the winsome character Angelo and the touching relationship between him and his "Giante Cioccolato" (Chocolate Giant), the raw and gripping depictions of war's brutality, and the uplifting final scene that gently closes the circle on a harsh and bitter journey.
I also liked the fact that the Germans and Italians spoke in their native languages, rather than in English with those distracting phoney accents. Consequently, there are a fair amount of subtitles to read, but I found that to be worth the effort.
Miracle at St. Anna. If you can bear a movie depicting the terrible violence and waste of war, it's a thoughtful addition to your list.
