Moving, powerful and true

Rating: 7/10 (24 August 2010)

What makes this so much more than just another Cinderella/underdog sports story? The timing of this World Cup Rugby match. I don't pretend to understand Rugby, and you don't need to – it's really about how Nelson Mandela, soon after being released from prison, seizes an opportunity to use Rugby to help unite South Africa.
After years of repression, apartheid, white supremacy rule, the Blacks had elected Mandela as their new president of South Africa. Both white and black radicals wanted revenge, power – violence was breaking out. How to stop it? By using the very symbol of white racism – the Rugby team – Nelson Mandela gave everyone something they could support, a cause to rally behind. It ain't crazy if it works, and this actually worked. He got the blacks to see the rugby team as belonging to all of South Africa, no longer something that only the whites would watch. Morgan Freeman does a superb job portraying Nelson.
What makes this book work so well are the characters behind the history. Of course the successful change from white rule to free elections was made possible by more than just a rugby game, but this movie shows how many different approached Nelson Mandela used to ensure peace. The focus is on the people - the game, the politics and strife are more in the background. ** Possible Spoiler** This is still a Cinderella story, but rather a very compelling piece one where the stakes are much more than a championship. Very uplifting and motivating, that in of itself, makes for a good entertainment.