Right on the heels of the Clint Eastwood Vs. Spike Lee kerfuffle, comes the trailer to the outspoken director’s (Lee) WII epic, “Miracle At St. Anna.”
How long until some cynic says Lee orchestrated all of this to drum up some free publicity for his new movie? 3, 2, 1…
But actually, perhaps Lee was more calculating then any of us could possibly imagine.
Clint and Spike obviously had their spat about WWII, race, black people, etc. Then the IIA jumped in and reminded Spike that his portrayal of American Italians throughout his career hasn’t exactly been favorable and maybe the director should practice what he preaches. Ooooh, snap! Got, right?
But what does Lee do? Well, he already did it, he’s made a movie about four black American soldiers, one of whom sacrifices his life to save a young Italian boy! It’s like Lee invented time travel and has been using it all these months, christ! (and Eastwood having spent all those times in Spaghetti Westerns is practically eyetalian anyway, right?)
The film chronicles the story of four black American soliders (Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, and Omar Benson Miller) who are members of the U.S. Army as part of the all-black 92nd “Buffalo Soldier” division stationed in Tuscany, Italy during WWII. They experience the tragedy and triumph of the war as they find themselves trapped behind enemy lines and separated from their unit after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.
The film chronicles the real-life Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre and is told utilizing a flashback device surrounding an Italian artifact that may or may not have been the ‘Miracle’ of the incident. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a reporter who tries to unravel the mystery 39 years later. Call this all convenient, or well timed, either way, “Miracle at St. Anna” bows into theaters on September 26.
