Story by DeWayne Rogers
Images by Dave Ellis for Steed Media Service
Spike Lee’s visit to the 33rd annual Toronto Film Festival was initially meant to be a victory lap of sorts. For Lee, it was the perfect opportunity to bask in the warm rays of widespread adulation thanks in large part to his gripping romp through World War II Tuscany with his latest flick, Miracle at St. Anna. The film, which is based on a fictional account by author James McBride about a group of Buffalo Soldiers trapped behind enemy lines, had been receiving an unusual amount of Oscar buzz from movie critics and studio executives alike — something that rarely ever happens with any of Lee’s films.
So as the cast, along with Lee converged on the Four Seasons Hotel to discuss the dynamics of the film, the topic swiftly left any talk of awards and shifted to the current racial climate in America — a topic Lee was happy to discuss. “I think this movie is coming out at the perfect time to be perfectly honest with you,” he shared. “With what Barack [Obama] is currently doing, and when you add on the views of the black man’s place in America, which is touched on in this film, it all has a bit of eerie timing to it if you ask me.”
Actor Derek Luke agreed. “I think that my character represents all that Barack Obama currently means to America,” he interjected. “My character believed that by fighting in this war, that opportunities would one day be created for his children and for his children’s children. To me, that’s what Barack is doing in this presidential election. This grueling process — for him has to be agonizing. But in his heart, I’m sure he sincerely believes that by fighting, a brighter day will one day be created for generations to come. On the flip side, there are many black people that haven’t gotten behind Barack. They are more like Michael Ealy’s character in the film. They believe that this country is unjust, [it] always has been, and always will be so why bother fighting? It’s a great debate that will continue to rage on, but one that will hopefully end in the election of our first black president.” With that, Lee began to clap his hands, and even stood up so the crowd could see his custom-made Obama T-shirt. “Yes, we can,” he chanted to the crowd. And if the buzz continues to build into something tangible for Miracle at St. Anna, then “Yes, Lee will” … at least come Oscar time.
Obama Is Not Alone
The love fest for Barack Obama continued throughout much of the early part of the day, as Hollywood’s cadre of stars attending the film festival all expressed a buoyant optimism for the possibility of serious change in Washington. Upstairs in Laz Alonso’s suite, as the talented star of Miracle at St. Anna was prepping for an extensive day of press interviews in advance of the film, his take on the journey of the Democratic presidential hopeful was a bit more reflective.
“I think I understand what Barack has had to endure his entire life,” he shares while standing out on his balcony that overlooks bustling downtown Toronto. “I believe he had to endure the same things that I had to as a child. I am the product of a mixed heritage as well, where my family is both African American and Cuban. When you look at my skin, I’m black, but if you walk into my house, we speak Spanish.
Neither side of who I am is more important than the other, as I’m proud of all parts of me. That’s just how it was in my household. But when I walked out on the street, people could only see me as a black man. I’m sure Barack can relate. If you look at this man’s life story, he was raised white. You always see that one picture of him with his black father, but every other image in his life was white. But no one talks about, or even really acknowledges his white side? That’s because all they can see is the color of his skin. But to me, it’s this diverse type of background that makes him the perfect person to lead such a diverse country.”
What Really Matters
The talk of politics was reluctantly placed to the side, momentarily, to shift back to the release of Lee’s stunning new epic. And while many journalists were excited to see what all the fuss was about, not everyone was elated to view Lee’s latest passion project.
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“I get so tired of Spike Lee films,” a noticeably exasperated and equally melanin deficient reporter said shortly before a private screening of Miracle at St. Anna strictly for the media. “He always gets so preachy in his movies. Does everything have to be black and white? It’s almost like he wants to stick it to ‘whitey’ in all of his films, and remind white people of all of our transgressions throughout the years.” Some silently nodded in agreement with the assertion that Lee was on a personal mission to lay a heavy guilt trip on the collective conscience of white America.
But when speaking to the man himself, you’d be hard-pressed to find even an inkling of such a vendetta. In fact, his motives appear to be about the empowerment of his people. “I think these stories are very important, and deserve to be told,” Lee shares when informed of the impression that some have of his motives. “These stories are important because they are a part of American history. When the impact that you have on history is not shown or depicted, and is omitted, kids will grow up thinking that they never contributed to anything. So I’m very happy that through the grace of God I was able to get this film made.”
Alonso adamantly agreed with Lee on the importance of telling these types of stories, particularly the story line in Miracle at St. Anna. “To me, the historical relevance of this film coming out at this time for African Americans cannot be understated,” he says. “When we study black history, oftentimes we only think about black contributions as if we only affected black culture. And really, African Americans have affected world culture — not just black culture — but both American and world culture. And in this story about the 92nd Infantry, the Buffalo Soldiers, you see how blacks not only bore arms in World War II, but they’ve been bearing arms all the way back to the Revolutionary War. I mean, they liberated Italy. And if you go to Europe and even mention the Buffalo Soldiers, the Europeans look at you with [pride]. While we were over there filming, they treated us with such admiration, and we were just portraying the Buffalo Soldiers. To me that puts things in perspective [about] how much African Americans have contributed to the world being what it is today.”
The Future: Bright but Challenging
It’s hard not to wonder exactly how America will receive a war movie based on black soldiers. Hollywood executives have long felt that unless the film was a comedy or action flick that black people weren’t going to go see it. Lee even shared as much in a recent interview on the CNN special “Black in America.” During his interview, he lamented the challenges of raising capital for meaningful pictures in Hollywood. Even after teaming with Touchstone Pictures to make this important film, he still feels as though the challenges are very real.
“You’ve got to get your grind on out here to get these movies made,” he says with a laugh. “But listen, I want people to understand that I’m not saying that I’m the only filmmaker that’s making films like this. And I’m not saying that it’s tough to get these types of movies done because I’m black. When you’re trying to do original, thought-provoking movies … you know, some new s—, versus doing a comic book superhero — that type of stuff … you have a better chance getting financed for the latter versus a film like Miracle at St. Anna. And that’s because the only thing that Hollywood understands is the bottom line. And if black folks, and other like-minded people would just go out and support the film, then it will become a lot easier for us to get our kind of stories told. And that’s the bottom line.”
