A Class Act on a Grand Scale

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2010)

Based upon a true story.
After almost 30 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela (Freeman) becomes President of South Africa and makes it his mission to forgive his suppressors and to unite the country, both black and white, through the sport of Rugby.
Rugby. Almost like American football except there don't appear to be many rules, no pads, no helmets, no instant replay, no forward pass and no cheerleaders. Bummer.
Invictus is a poem by William Ernest Henley and the last two lines sum up everything: I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. Mandela used the poem to not give in or give up to anything while he was in prison regardless of the hardships he endured there.
This is a class act on a grand scale and may be Clint Eastwood's most important film. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon deserved the Oscar nominations as they and the entire cast were outstanding.
Maybe the concentration on Rugby was too much and nothing was mentioned about the other duties of the new South African government, but President Mandela needed to unify the country before he could feel confident the whole country was behind him on other matters. It worked. He and the South Africans win. Wouldn't it be nice if nations could use sports to vent whatever they feel they need to vent. And, if they lose, well, there's always next year.
We didn't get any insight into Mandela's daughter who couldn't get over the white South Africans as also part of the new government. She kept remembering that they were the ones who threw the Mandela family out of their house. After the Rugby match, did she see the wisdom of what President Mandela accomplished with Rugby? This was not addressed.
Nevermind playing Rugby, watching parts of a Rugby game in a movie isn't easy either, you know. I did some damage to my knee and right elbow watching some of the hits. I could become a Rugby fan if they had more rules, pads, helmets, instant replay, the forward pass and, of course, cheerleaders (but, Bob, that's American Football). Exactly.
Violence: Yes, Rugby is a violent game. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Believe I only heard one F-bomb