Spike Lee redefines the war epic

Put simply, Spike Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna” is the best war movie since “Saving Private Ryan.” Riveting, engaging and thoughtful, it finds an untold perspective in a well-mined genre.

The film opens strongly, when an elderly black man kills an older Italian man he ran into at the post office. In searching the killer’s apartment, the police discover an ancient and valuable statue head. While questioning the man about the head, we are given a flashback to the real story.

Set in Italy during the 1944 campaign of World War II, we see the tale of four soldiers in the all-black 92nd Infantry Division who get stuck behind enemy lines in a small village after saving the life of a young Italian boy. Events unfold, involving the Nazi occupation, the Italian partisan resistance, a racist army colonel and an odd piece of statuary.

Lee delivers a rich and multifaceted tale that draws in the audience, laying out his threads and masterfully weaving them together into a satisfying ending. Competing against the vast number of WWII films that have come before, Lee manages to find several points of view that are unconsidered, offering a story that feels new in the midst of a familiar setting.

The film’s variety of setting and tone are fantastic. The action scenes are well-choreographed, depicting brutal struggles against entrenched enemies. The scenes of intolerance are as poignant as the tender emotional scenes between characters.

Laden with a sense of mystery and spirituality, the whole package is wrapped up beautifully with engaging cinematography that brings the film to life and drama to even the slower dialogue-heavy scenes.

The movie toes the line between a realistic view of the world, where unrelated series of events come together to form a larger a story, and heavy-handed cliches. It remains on the right side of that line for most of the film, only delving into the over-the-top realm for a short speech near film’s end.

Spike Lee spins a gripping tale of love, war, God and men on a scale that is epic and still human. Though not as good as some of his other films, it is an excellent addition to the war genre. “Miracle” is well-worth seeing for anyone interested in the tales of human drama spun out of the time period.