Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Spike's War Movie


I have been a defender of some of Spike Lee's films that everyone else seemed to hate. I maintain that although School Daze, Bamboozled, and Crooklyn are far from perfect, they are not terrible films. They all have some excess, but there are enough moments or an overriding mission or spirit that keep them afloat and ultimately stand as works that transcend this unique filmmaker's vision over his excesses and indulgences.

Girl 6, Jungle Love, and Mo' Better Blues did not fare as well. He Got Game, Summer of Sam, and Get On the Bus were interesting excursions, but missed the mark of Do the Right Thing and She's Gotta Have It. I recall 25th Hour as a solid film I would like to revisit sometime. And his for hire films, Clockers and The Inside Man show he can adapt as a journeyman director.

I had hopes for Miracle at St Anna It was going to be the film where Spike went toe to toe with Clint Eastwood to tell the story of a unit of Buffalo Soldiers in WWII. I try to see his films when they come out theatrically despite the short windows. But Miracle had a very limited release last fall and literally disappeared in about a week. And its three hour run time looked like it might have been a factor in it not resurfacing a few weeks later the brew pub circulation. I ignore reviews of Spike films because his films are so polarizing. However, viewing this film on DVD confirmed for me that this film's disappearing act was not unmerited.

Miracle of St Anna is ultimately a pretty bad movie. I am thinking that its greatest value over time will be the screen exposure it gave four pretty fine actors Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso and Omar Benson Miller. These guys were great to watch even though they suffered through a film that indulged highly in racial polemic (no surprise there), spiritual overkill (new ground for Spike, unfortunately) and subplots full of distateful Italian partisans, vicious Nazis and white racists. This is one overstuffed flick, even by Spike Lee standards, constantly overwhelmed by a well-intentioned and sincere but overbearing soundtrack by Terrance Blanchard.

But in the midst of it all, there are at least half a dozen fine filmmaker moments. One of these is the film's opening shot, a rapid track down a hallway at the welcome mat level. There is also this wonderful high angle shot of sky road and train tracks during a brief flashback of the soldier's training where they turn their jeep around at the tracks to return to town to face down some racial injustice instead of crossing back over to a more familiar side. And the cinematography by Matthew Libatique (Inside Man and Darren Aronofsky's early films) and longtime Spike Lee collaborator Ernest Dickerson is quite impressive.

Spike is returning to some television film projects and Inside Man 2 has been announced. I'll obviously be there to see those as I will in a few years when the funding gods grant him a budget for another big film. I know that being an admirer of Spike Lee's work means being on board for the long game.
posted by well-executed buffet at 4:39 AM
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