Miracle At St. Anna - Lee, 2008

First off, I'm not a fan at all of Spike Lee. In fact, I think he's one of the worst and most over-rated directors working. Now, here he comes out with a long movie that generally gets poor reviews and I'm going to tell you that it isn't that bad at all. In fact, I think it is his best film, which isn't saying a whole lot in my eyes, since the only film of his I have rated above a 3 is She's Gotta Have It (5 rating).

One of the main flaws is that it doesn't seem realistic throughout, but the point of the story (I think) is about miraculous events, even in the shadow of tragedy. So, I'm inclined to be a bit more forgiving about that. And even though it is a long film, it doesn't really seem overly so. Another of the most common criticism of this film is that it is boring, but I think the pacing is pretty good overall.

A lot of people have castigated the acting, and I think that goes along with the suspension of reality. These people are not behaving the way people do in real life, but rather in a story about a miracle.

Now, there are a few scenes which display Spike Lee at his very worst, including the horrible "white bigot owner of the soda shop" scene, or the "spit in the white bigot officer's canteen" scene. That is the Spike Lee I despise, but there isn't much of that in this film. Without those scenes, I'd give this a 6. But, a 5 rating.