3. Miracle At St. Anna (2008)
Back in 2008, just before the opening of his own Miracle At St. Anna, Spike Lee criticised Clint Eastwood for making two World War II movies which didn't feature one solitary black soldier as a character. Mr Eastwood may well be a giant of cinema, but, as we saw at the Republican Party Convention when he addressed an empty chair, he's as mad as the late Margaret Thatcher's left elbow. That would explain Eastwood's considered retort that Lee should, "Shut his face." Hundreds of black servicemen were involved in the attack on Iwo Jima depicted in Eastwood's films, and choosing not to make them part of the story highlights the undertow of discrimination alive and well in both society at large and Hollywood in particular. Miracle At St. Anna is an effort to redress the balance and is Spike Lee's "Thank you" to those who fought for their country and have had their contribution ignored. This is a movie that had to be made, rendering its box office achievements almost an irrelevance. The film itself is lavishly and exquisitely photographed and follows the Black, segregated Buffalo Soldiers 92nd Infantry Division who are stationed in Italy. The scene depicting the firefight as they attempt to cross the Serchio River whilst Axis Sally (a German radio announcer dispensing propaganda) asks them to question why they're fighting for an America that considers them less than human is right up there with the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan. This film looks at the war from a unique angle and tells a story that has been ignored for far too long. The scenes in New York which bookend the movie and feature top-notch performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Turturro, are thoroughly engrossing. It's a clever and well-observed film, and the euphoric ending wrong foots you. I was inspired to raise my right fist and yell, "Fight The Power!" which isn't necessarily what anyone in Wigan expects on a Tuesday afternoon.