Miracle at St. Anna

Nighthawk1 wrote on IMDB:

I attended the world premier of Miracle at St. Anna at Toronto International Film Festival. Unfortunately as much as I respect Spike Lee as a filmmaker I thought the movie was a bit dull and kind of boring. At 166 minutes I found that the movie was overlong and dragged too much. I became restless after awhile as the movie progressed. The story didn't seem to go anywhere, was uninteresting and I had trouble connecting with it. It was hard to follow at times as well. The movie jumped all over the place at several points to different years in the history of the characters. I found this to be jarring and irritating. Spike Lee should have taken more time to edit his film because each of the scenes went longer than they should have. It's not the worst movie I have ever seen although it could have been better. My expectations were high. I came away somewhat disappointed.

casamartinez01 wrote on IMDB:

Endless, unbearable. Italian actors overacting shamelessly and Spike Lee losing track of his own talents. The self indulgence mixed with the confusion made this "epic" one of the most difficult films to sit through in long, long time. During my visit to Los Angeles I was invited to a few screenings but this one was the one I longed for. Terrible let down. It's been a long time since "Do The Right Thing" and I have the feeling that it has to do with Spike Lee's vision of himself as a filmmaker. There is a lack of humility that blurs everything he does and "Miracle At St Anna" is a perfect example of that. In a way "The Inside Man", his genre commercial outing, was more honest and disciplined than anything his done of late. I can't imagine this film making any money so maybe Mr Lee will have the space to reflect. I certainly hope so because I'm sure he still has some aces up his sleeve.

ladycook99 wrote on IMDB:

In all the cries of racism, you are overlooking the fact that Spike Lee simply turned a BOOK called "Miracle at St. Anna" by JAMES MCBRIDE into a screenplay. Have you read the book? Perhaps you should before you vilify Spike any further.

In the author's note McBride states "This book is a work of fiction inspired by real events and real people..." He clearly states it is a work of fiction but based on real things. There is nothing wrong with him deciding to bring to life in words a brief glimpse into one of the battles of the Buffalo Soldiers. Nor is there anything wrong with Spike deciding to bring that same story to the big screen.

Read the book with an open mind then see the movie with an open mind. You might actually learn something.