Invictus

Rating: 6/10 (3 March 2016)

It had been mentioned in 2003 that the star of The Shawshank Redemption would be playing the famous South African politician and revolutionary, it took a number of years for it to actually happen, I was interested to see which event in his life they would focus on, from Oscar nominated director Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, Changeling, Million Dollar Baby). Based on the true story, Nelson Mandela (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Morgan Freeman) is released from Victor Verster Prison on 11 February 1990 after 27 years of imprisonment, four years later he is elected the first black President of South Africa. Mandela faces enormous challenges in the post-Apartheid era, including uncontrolled poverty and crime, he is particularly concerned about racial divisions which could lead to violence between black and white South Africans. While attending a rugby between the South African national team Springboks and England, Mandela notices the blacks in the stadium are cheering for England, in their minds the mostly-white Springboks represent prejudice and racism, Mandela says he did the same whilst on Robben Island. South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup, knowing this Mandela persuades a meeting of the newly black- dominated South African Sports Committee to support the Springboks, he meets with the team captain François Pienaar (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Matt Damon), Mandela implies that victory for the Springboks in the World Cup will unite and inspire the nation, he also shares a British poem called "Invictus" with François, that inspired him during his imprisonment. Training begins for François and his teammates, many black and white South Africans doubt that rugby will unite a nation torn apart by nearly 50 years of racial tensions, as for many blacks, especially the radicals, the Springboks symbolise white supremacy, but Mandela and François stand firmly behind their theory that the game can successfully unite the South African country. Things start to change as the players interact and make friends with the fans, support grows for the Springboks among the black population during the opening games, by the second game the Springboks and Mandela's efforts brings together the whole country. The Springboks surpass all expectations and qualify for the final against South Africa's arch-rivals, the New Zealand team the All Blacks, New Zealand and South Africa are regarded universally as the two greatest rugby nations, up to this point the Springboks are the only side to have a winning record against the All Blacks, the intense rivalry between the two countries began in 1921. Before the game, the Springboks team visits Robben Island, where Madela spent 18 of his 27 years years in jail, there Pienaar is inspired by Mandela's will and the words of the poem "Invictus", François mentions finding it amazing Mandela could spend so many years in prison, come out, and be ready to forgive the people who put him there. A large home crowd of all races support Pienaar and the motivated team, security receive a warning of a South African Airways Boeing 747 jetliner flying low over the stadium, this is not an assassination attempt, it is a demonstration of patriotism, with a message painted on the undersides of the plane's wings for the Springboks. In the end the Springboks win the World Cup match with added time, scoring 15-12, Mandela and Pienaar meet on the field together to celebrate the improbable and unexpected victory, as Madela leaves and watches the South Africans celebrate, his voice is heard reciting the poem "Invictus". Also starring Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala, Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne Feyder, Adjoa Andoh as Brenda Mazibuko, Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy, Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens and Leleti Khumalo as Mary. Freeman certainly portrays the right amount of prowess as the great influential man, and he just about pulls of the difficult accent, Damon is perhaps less convincing but is still a suited to his part as the rugby team leader. The film is essentially made up of two parts, the first sees the important moments after the release of Mandela and some chat and training for the upcoming rugby games, then the second is mostly taken up by the important World Cup final which is exciting enough, even if you already know the result, I wonder if Eastwood could have chosen to do the entire life of Mandela up to the present day at the time, but I can see why this event in his life was so significant, all in all the film is an interesting enough biographical drama. Good!