Well made, emotion-evoking "bio-pic", supported by two outstanding actors

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2010)

Clint Eastwood has done, once again (but it was highly predictable), a great job, in this unusual bio-pic, in the way the story of Nelson Mandela, being now the president of a country which had kept him prisoner for 24 years, is seen through the adventures of the national rugby team, now become the binding element of whites and blacks.
Morgan Freeman is one thing with Nelson Mandela, reminding him in his physical appearance so perfectly, and he manages to convey the temperament of a man ready to forgive so much, but also self-confident, knowing exactly where he wants to lead his country, and that South Africa will have to become one nation. Matt Demon is always believable, perfectly fit, both physically and psychologically, for his role, and offers moments of deep emotional involvement, mainly when he sees Mandela's former cell and thinks of his suffering past, when the leader's moral inner strength was his only weapon to go on. The movie flows with increasing pathos, bringing to light a strong consciousness of need for fraternity through forgiveness and respect for everyone.
The genius of Clint Eastwood delivers another deep portrait of solid, true, honest men, and in a world always lacerated by false myths, leaves a message in favour of those universal, and ever founding values of human life, so taken for granted in words, but so difficult to find in real life.