Spike Refights WWII (and Other Directors)

Spike Lee hopes to set the record straight about the African American presence in WWII—but he also hopes to tell a good story. His new film, Miracle at St. Anna, tells the fictional tale of Buffalo Soldiers trapped in a Tuscan town, in his own inimitable style. "I made the decision that everyone speak their native language," he says of the dialogue. "This film is about barriers, language, culture, all that stuff. "

Invoking filmmakers Rossellini and De Sica, Lee says Miracle at St. Anna is also meant to be a less stereotypical representation of Italians and Germans than moviegoers might expect. Hollywood doesn't have all the answers, he insists: "When I sit across the table from these executives and they're telling me stuff, in my mind I'm saying, 'You don't know what you're talking about.'" (More Spike Lee stories.)