Spike Lee Takes On WWII: ‘Miracle at St.Anna’ Trailer

Although Spike Lee‘s next pic may not be approved by Clint Eastwood, but judging by its trailer, Miracle at St. Anna should be epic. Race issues is the name of Lee’s game, and this pic does not shy away.  The representation of African American soldiers in Hollywood’s slew of WWII pics (such as Eastwood‘s Iwo Jima) has been slim to none.  While they did compose a minority of the total number of US soldiers, there were still more than 1 million African Americans who served in the war. St. Anna is the story of four such soldiers, who served in the US Army as a part of the all-black 92nd Buffalo Soldier Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy. When the group gets trapped near a small Tuscan village, they find there a kind of humanity which their own government is lacking.

The trailer for the pic starts off with a ‘bang.’  We are first led into the life of Hector, the only surviving veteran from the group, in 1983; while working at the post office, he shoots and kills a man who comes up and asks for stamps. Why? Apparently, it has something to do with an ancient Roman head found in Hector’s apartment. Confused yet? The trailer then explodes into a heart-pounding trip back to the battlefields. Glimpses of the head pop up, but what really stands out is the unexpected connection these African-American soldiers made with the small-town Tuscan people.

As the title suggests, the film will end in a miracle. And unless you’ve read the book by James McBride, who also penned the screenplay, this trailer will leave you itching to know how it all turns out. This will be Lee’s first take on the epic war genre, but he has fine-tuned his thriller/drama directorial skills via recent pics such as the 25th Hour and Inside Man.  The pic is being released in September under Touchstone Pictures.

Check out the trailer for Miracle at St. Anna below.