Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
Set primarily in Italy during the Italian Civil War in World War II, the film tells the story of four Buffalo Soldiers (The name given to regiments of black Americans) of the 92nd Infantry Division who seek refuge in a small Tuscan village, where they form a bond with the residents. The film is told in flashback, as one survivor reflects upon his experiences in a wraparound story set in 1980s New York.
Spike Lee's epic war film is good but parts of it are a slog due to lack of characterisation during the first hour meaning i didn't really care or sympathise with any of the soldiers. This improved afterwards but meant the film couldn't be classed as anywhere near classic. Funnily enough you could see where Lee's sights were set when his framing character was watching The Longest Day (1962) on a screen but he really doesn't come close to that film's achievements.
It's also overlong in a sprawling unfocused sense, again mainly the first half but again it detracts from what should have been a great work. The action is well staged and gorily graphic but nowhere near the likes of Saving Private Ryan (1998) for sustained tension and terror.
Somewhere in the expansive, lumbering story there is genuine historical sentiment both of the way black Americans were treat in WWII and also the Italian Civil War going on at the same time as the battle with Nazi Germany, and which factions were collaborating with the Germans and so on. However much of these points were a footnote in a film whose ambition isn't matched by what is on screen where there's clearly a lot going on but much of it fails to convince.
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