Invictus [DVD] [2010]

A host of rugby stars lined up to pan this film. They obviously did not realize that it is *not* about rugby: the rugby is purely incidental and a vehicle to tell the real story. It is about how a man, an extraordinary man, used the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa to unite a country. It is a truly epic story, capped by a magnificent performance by Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. It is a story of how hate, bigotry and prejudice on both sides were overcome and how a rugby team helped forge a nation.Throughout the film Morgan Freeman's head is spliced onto Nelson Mandela's head in archive footage to maintain the sense of reality. At the end though, we get a long series of genuine images from the 1995 World Cup of the players and their jubilant President, wearing his South Africa Springboks shirt and cap, with their symbols of apartheid. These images are a small treat to allow you to compare some of the incidents portrayed in the film with how they actually did happen in real life.If you take the trouble to look through the credits, you will also see that the real Chester Williams (played in the film by McNeil Hendricks) who, with François Pienaar, are the two main protagonists from the team who are portrayed throughout the film, acted as coach to the actors.This is a wonderful film and, so soon after the death of Nelson Mandela, it is a reminder of what a difficult job he was faced with on becoming President and the remarkable way that he faced it and, largely, succeeded in it.The film is an excellent adaptation of the book by John Carlin. Clint Eastwood captures the spirit of the book beautifully.There are a couple of annoying minor things where false tension is created unnecessarily. At the start of the film the scene of the minivan delivering the morning newspapers is a little overplayed: after all that buildup you rather expect half a dozen hooded Libyan gunmen to leap out of it, rather than a man with a bundle of newspapers. And the overflight of SAA 747 over the stadium was planned well in advance (Clint, you've been reading too much Tom Clancy), but these are trivial things and should not detract from your enjoyment of the story.

After 26 years in prison Nelson Mandela is released and not long afterwards is elected the first black president of South Africa. In a country bitterly divided along racial lines as a result of decades of apartheid where black South Africans backed all the opponents of their national rugby team, the Springboks and cheer when the "boks" are beaten Mandela realises that this is symptomatic of the division and he seeks to heal the rift by visibly backing the Springboks in the upcoming rugby world cup in an effort to get black South Africans to back their own team as do their white countrymen so they can all feel a sense of national pride and solidarity.Morgan Freeman is outstanding as Mandela and looks and sounds very much like him and Matt Damon tries hard to convince as the captain of the Springboks but not with total success and it would have been better if a South African actor had been cast in this role. No doubt there are reasons for this as the director of the film, Clint Eastwood is not exactly a novice when it comes to making films of oustanding quality like Invictus. All the supporting players are excellent and the initial tension between the black and white bodyguards of Mandela is well conveyed. Eastwood has produced a superb epic film that is intelligent, exciting, moving and memorable and adds to his reputation as being one of the leading film makers of our time.It is a sad fact and an ongoing tragedy that the early promise about South Africa's future created when Mandela became president was not realised to the extent that was hoped for and that South Africa's potential has not yet been fulfilled. Now that apartheid has been dismantled it must be hoped that when the country is more democratic, has less crime, has a reduced level of corruption and summons up the courage to actively oppose regimes in its own continent like that of Robert Mugabe it will become the role model for all countries in Africa.

This is a hugely enjoyable movie which charts the rise of Nelson Mandela and his role in bringing in the nation of South Africa together during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It would be considered corny if it didn't happen to be true. I'm not sure about all the details but the basic facts are there, that Mandela, newly elected to the presidency of South Africa chose reconciliation rather than confrontation with the white minority who had so long oppressed the people he represented. One gesture was to support the Springboks - a major symbol of white supremacy in the past - and to bring the nation together around them in spite of what many of his own supporters who wanted them for ever abolished.This is steering stuff with Morgan Freeman giving a stunning performance of Mandela. Just why he didn't receive an Oscar for this performance is something only the vagaries of the Academy award system can tell us. He looks like and sounds like the great man himself - it's worth watching the movie just for this one performance. Elsewhere the movie is solidly cast with one unfortunate exception. Well as Matt Damon acts as the Springbok captain François Pienaar, he is simply not physically big enough to be credible in the role. Pienaar was a huge man in every respect and Damon just doesn't have the size to convince. The rugby scenes are quite well done but not in the same league as, say, the action scenes in Friday Night Lights.However, the rugby is actually incidental to the main action of the film which is about a great statesman rising above the prejudice and hate that were fundamental to the country he inherited. Do see this movie and be inspired.