The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Features  |  Reviews
-->

Miracle at St. Anna

Has Spike Lee lost his way?
By PETER KEOUGH  |  October 1, 2008
1.5 1.5 Stars

miracleatstannainside.jpg

What is the Miracle at St. Anna? Maybe that a filmmaker capable of the eloquence of When the Levees Broke could make such an incoherent movie. Or maybe it’s the recollection of an incident by means of a flashback within a flashback within a flashback when none of those having the flashbacks could have had any of the experiences recalled. The proceedings begin in 1983, with Hector (Laz Alonso), a postal worker and war veteran, plugging a guy at his window with a German Luger. Investigators turn up a marble head in his apartment. Asked what’s going on, he says, “The Sleeping Man.” Maybe he’s referring to Spike Lee, who seems to have taken a snooze in this jumble of confused plotting and characters with random motivation, stereotypes who forget from moment to moment what cliché they’re supposed to be. Set in a Tuscan village that was the site of a Nazi massacre, Miracle at St. Anna is meant as a tribute to the unheralded African-American soldiers who fought in World War II, but it comes off as the work of a director who’s lost his way. 160 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + Suburbs

Related:
  Topics: Reviews , Spike Lee , World War II , Entertainment ,  More more >
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

Today's Event Picks
ARTICLES BY PETER KEOUGH
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: MILK  |  November 26, 2008
    Van Sant's gay of reckoning
  •   REVIEW: AUSTRALIA  |  November 25, 2008
    Baz Luhrmann's Oz and ends
  •   INTERVIEW: CLEVE JONES  |  November 25, 2008
    Retro active
  •   SIMPLE BLOOD  |  November 24, 2008
    Twilight puts the life back into the undead
  •   WHIZ KID  |  November 24, 2008
    Slumdog Millionaire is a magical misery tour

 See all articles by: PETER KEOUGH

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



Tuesday, December 02, 2008  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2008 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group