Miracle at St. Anna

Don't let anyone fool you, this is not the "black" Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers", but it is close. Director Spike Lee does his reputation good with this effort. Some have called it a misfire. I disagree. Is it a classic, not by any measure, but it is a good story well told. That is enough for me to recommend it.

Laz Alonso is very good in both his rolls here. He is both the young and the old main character, and he knows who the Sleeping Man is. Do you?

Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, and Omar Benson Miller are a great group together as Buffalo soldiers trapped behind German lines in 1944 Tuscan Italy. The miracle is that they survive as long as they do, AND that this almost 3-hour movie holds one's interest for as long as it does.

Two standouts from Italy for us yanks to look forward to are Valentina Cervi and Matteo Sciabordi. Both are fun to watch and bring far more to the project than they are given credit. I hope to see both again soon.

While this movie has some racial tension as a main element, it is not a tense as Spike Lee's usual fare. That said, it is not an easily watched if you are not the open-minded sort. While the main events in the movie all actually happened, their relation to each other are mostly fictional.

Watch this movie with someone who is an actual fan of war movies.