Anna is a 2008 americanitalian war film based on the eponymous 2003 novel by james mcbride, who also wrote the screenplay. It is sam and his rescue of angelo that is the heart of this novel, supplying as it does the miracle at st. Anna by james mcbride discussion guide for book clubs. Anna was the site of a massacre of more than 500 italian civilians by members of a german ss unit. Who does hector negron shoot in the post office in miracle at st. The four soldiers find themselves standing in a river, with a nazi loudspeaker blasting the sultry voice of axis sally, who promises them sexy.
Sep 30, 2008 spike lees miracle at st anna denounced by italian war veterans as insulting director spike lee is at the centre of controversy after italian war veterans claimed his new film, miracle at st. Santa anna was all those things, in addition to being handsome, intelligent, charismatic, ambitious, and brave. Set in 1944 italy, the story of four black american soldiers who get trapped in a tuscan village during wwii. In the melee that opens the book, the giant sam train suddenly comes to believe he can turn invisible, the local miser believes he is cursed with a wealth of rabbits. Anna sets out, in a most circuitous fashion, to solve. Spike lee\s attempt at a sweeping war epic, miracle at st. Anna by the nazi ss, which was shot in the exact spot where 560 italian civilians were massacred on august 12, 1944. In the scene in the prologue, it appears that hector is shooting an innocent. In a littleknown chapter of big apple history, the mexican villain of the infamous battle, antonio lopez. Anna, james mcbride, author of the bestselling memoir the color of water, tells a war story that, like all great tales of conflict, connects the enormous tragedy of war with the intimate stories of individual soldiers. He was a great general and as far as i have read, a passable president. Americans might know his as the cruel mexican general of the battle of the alamo in texas. Look out for mcbrides new book, fivecarat soul from the new york times bestselling author of the good lord bird, winner of the.
Directed by spike lee, it stars derek luke, michael ealy, laz alonso, omar benson miller, pierfrancesco favino and valentina cervi. Anna is the worst film lee has ever made with apologies to girl 6. With derek luke, michael ealy, laz alonso, omar benson miller. James mc brides, miracle at st anna is so compelling and moving it is hard to know if you should be marvelling at his emotive words or weeping at the empathy and raw emotion that jumps from each and every page. This book has drastically changed my view of santa anna. Spike lees dizzyingly ambitious epic chronicles the experience of four black infantrymen caught behind enemy lines in world war ii italy. Yp the real yellow pages sm helps you find the right local businesses to meet your specific needs.
As a woman, i appreciated that the residents of the italian village included two fascinating female characters and that the plot, while including some elements of military strategy, worked. The film was directed by spike lee, and features an ensemble cast that includes derek luke, michael ealy, laz alonso, omar benson miller, pierfrancesco favino and valentina cervi. Also found is a purple heart, and a shot of a picture reveals he was also. This puppy is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of the movie to get the dialogue.
With a view of the war that is both panoramic in its sweep and deeply personal in its exploration of the human spirit, miracle at st. Im guessing he was aiming for an academy award, since the film does have fantastic scenery and an important subject matter, but unfortunately, none of the other components came together well at all. Spike lee explores fighting evil and living with it the new. Who does hector negron shoot in the post office in. Mexico in the age of proposals, 18211853 presents santa anna not as a politician but as a. Anna is a far cry from one of spike lees masterpieces. The story is presented as a flashback, as one survivor reflects on his experiences in a frame story set in 1980s new york. Following the huge critical and commercial success of his nonfiction memoir, the color of water, mcbride offers a powerful and emotional novel of black american soldiers fighting the german army in. Anna, was optioned for film in 2007 by black butterfly productions with noted american filmmaker spike lee directing and coproducing. The book was inspired by a true event that happened in the area where the 92nd division foughtspecifically, a village called st. Spike lees miracle at st anna denounced by italian war. The film is the longest day, the sprawling 1962 world.
Six times the countrys president, he is consistently depicted as a traitor, a turncoat, and a tyrantthe exclusive cause of all of mexicos misfortunes. Anna script is here for all you fans of the spike lee world world ii drama. Anna has one of the best battle scenes i can remember, on a par with saving private ryan but more tightly focused in a specific situation rather than encompassing a huge panorama. Anna brings to life a largely overlooked historical moment and extends the reach of james mcbrides considerable storytelling powers. Look out for mcbrides new book, fivecarat soul from the new york times bestselling author of the good lord bird, winner of the 20 national book award.
Anna, opens with an aging world war ii vet watching the dday classic the longest day starring john wayne. Santa anna could have fielded an army of threequarters of a million and still left half a million reservists at home to deal with any rebellions or uprisings. In modernday mexico, however, santa anna is also seen as a traitor who gave away texas and lost the mexican war on purpose to gain a bribe. There are scenes that could have been lost to more decisive editing, but i found after a few days that my mind did the editing for me, and i. Spike lees miracle at st anna denounced by italian war veterans as insulting director spike lee is at the centre of controversy after italian war veterans claimed his new film, miracle at st. Anna is above all a hymn to the brotherhood of man and the power to do good that lives in each of us. There isnt a single interesting idea in this movie save the. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and. James mcbride is an accomplished musician and author of the new york times bestseller, the color of water. Anna will certainly appeal to both male and female readers. Why hector has killed this man and how he came to possess the head of the statue of the primavera, which had adorned the santa trinita bridge in florence since the sixteenth century, is the mystery that miracle at st. Santa anna partook in most major events in the first 40 years of mexican independence. Anna is a mess of miscommunicated messages that still leaves room for a proper film based on the buffalo soldiers to be told, preferably a true one.
Anna, like those of its predecessor, and then we heard the thunder, confront what w. In this unabashedly revisionist biography, fowler latin american studies, univ. Get an answer for who does hector negron shoot in the post office in miracle at st. Santa anas civic blog, with news, entertainment and local politics. Search results are sorted by a combination of factors to give you a set of choices in response to your search criteria.
Sep 26, 2008 spike lee\s attempt at a sweeping war epic, miracle at st. Anna an old man sits in his apartment watching a movie on his blackandwhite television set. The united states, by contrast, had a standing army of 6,400, all volunteers, which was usually 900 to 1,000 men understrength. Particularly effective is the way lee presents the massacre at the church of st. Back in 2002 james mcbride made his first appearance on the program to talk about his first novel miracle at st. Du bois called double consciousness, the dilemma of being of two minds, two cultures, two societies, one a victim of the racist discrimination of the other. Inspired by a historical incident that took place in the villa. Buy miracle at sant anna by james mcbride, james macbride from amazons fiction books store. Read more kony jams mcbride knew his mother was different. Its an ambitious goal, and not entirely successful. Santa anna was born in xalapa on february 21, 1794. By jim castagnera special to the history place 92908. His reputation was destroyed in his own country where he is said to have sold a third of mexico to the united states to settle the mexican american war.
Army as part of the allblack 92nd buffalo soldier division stationed in tuscany, italy. Anna is part devastating world war ii movie, part political film exposing the notorious racism of much of white america during that time, and part fairy tale in which a child becomes one with his rescuers as his spirit transcends the evil around him. Armys allblack division are stationed in the tuscany region of italy. Anna premiered at the 2008 toronto international film festival before it was released on september 26, 2008. Anna chronicles the story of four africanamerican soldiers who are members of the u. Six times the countrys president, he is consistently depicted as a traitor, a turncoat, and a tyrantthe exclusive cause of all of mexicos misfortunes following the countrys independence from spain. There is too much, too many characters, too many subplots. Anna after a wwii veteran murders a man, we flash back to his days with the buffalo soldiers to learn why he became a murderer forty years later. Lee first learned of the novel in 2004 and approached mcbride with the idea of a film adaptation. Stepping back forty years, the novel plunges us into the world of the allnegro 92nd division, into the fierce fighting of. Featuring some of the most kinetic, visceral battle scenes in recent memory, this antidote to the jingoistic flag wavers of yore wrestles with the complex moral choices faced by black soldiers who risked their lives for a country that regarded them as. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The final miraculous rescue of angelo is of a piece.
This is the part of santa anna s life that fowler says is not realistic. Set primarily in italy during germanoccupied europe in world war ii, the book tells the story of four buffalo soldiers of the 92nd infantry division who seek refuge in a small tuscan village, where they form a bond with the residents. Anna is piled to the rafters with cutesykid antics, olive garden italians, hogans heroes krauts and even a mythical peasant hero, the great butterfly, whos either a terrorist or. Traversing class, race, and geography, miracle at st.
Mcbride is a distinguished writer in residence at new york university. Spike lee explores fighting evil and living with it the. After some limited formal education, he worked for a short time as a merchant. Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up. But there is so much here that is powerful that it should be seen no matter its imperfections. At a new york post office, an employee, hector negron, pulls out a german gun and shoots a customer at point blank range with no explanation. Anna, opens with an aging world war ii vet watching the dday classic the longest. Finally, one additional entrant will be chosen at random to win a third copy of the hills season four on dvd. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the films opening 3day weekend box office friday to sunday, without going under, will also win a copy of the hills season four on dvd, as well as miracle at st. Several reallife events that occurred during the war, such as the santanna di stazzema massacre, are reenacted, placing miracle at st.
Stepping back forty years, the novel plunges us into the world. It reveals to us a littleknown but fascinating moment in history through the eyes and imagination of a gifted writer. Four of the soldiers derek luke, michael ealy, laz. This is the santa ana public library online catalog home page. Anna contains scenes of brilliance, interrupted by scenes that meander.
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