I am an avowed Spike Lee fan. I love his films, and have seen them every time one is released. Mr. Lee's latest joint, "Miracle at St. Anna," is one of the best films I have ever seen. If one could argue that poetry and prose takes wing in a vision, "Miracle is it. The plot is thick, complex, and intertwined in such an incredible way...ah, the art blazes through in every frame...seriously. 

But as with all of Mr. Lee's films, there is a message. And in this case, as is also usually the case, that message has as many sides as the personalities and beliefs of people who watch the film.

I really do not want to give the plot away, but it is safe to say it is set during World War II and the 1980s; and meanders back and forth between the two. It features many "unknown" actors who shine and bring beauty to their craft.

The best writing, as you should know by now, is believable. And this story is so....beautiful. I am dying to know who wrote it and whether it is based on real events.

But plot and storyboards aside, what resonated most in this film is humanity...that there remains, even in the midst of unimaginable atrocities, humanity in all of us regardless of race, religion, or creed. In fact, Mr. Lee shows us that the worst not only reveals the best in people, but drags it kicking and screaming into the broad light of day, laying it bare for the world to see.

Everyone at some level knows what it is to be despised...ridiculed for being different. Some, unfortunately, also know real suffering for their differences. And while watching this film, I could not help but think of everything that has transpired to further acts of violence and atrocities in the Middle East and elswhere in the world -Palestine, Israel, Mogadishu, Darfur, South Africa, Mexico, and on the list goes. Violence, raw and pulsing with the last arterial bursts of the dying man, woman, and child in a far off land...really are not quite so far away a some would imagine. And it is far too close for comfort.

It also raises the question: why the hell does history repeat itself quite so often? Then, "Will we ever learn?" This is soon followed by the prayer, "Good God I hope so, or we are truly lost."