A Very Inspiring Story

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2010)

Nelson Mandela is one of the very few people I can think of (and certainly the only one living today) to whom I would be willing to apply the adjective "great." His personal story of rising from imprisonment under apartheid to becoming the first black President of South Africa is a powerful testimony to perseverance and forgiveness, as instead of using his newly acquired power to take revenge on those who had oppressed he and his people, he chose to use his power to promote reconciliation. The world would be so much better off today if there were more Mandelas! "Invictus" offers just a small part of that story. Shortly after the advent of majority rule, South Africa hosted the World Cup of rugby. South Africa's own rugby team was (with one exception) all white, and had been hated by the black majority during the apartheid era. Mandela chose to use the team as a way to promote unity in the country. The disunity was shown in many ways - Mandela's own presidential bodyguards (some black and some white) were highly suspicious of each other, and in a match against England before the tournament the black spectators cheered for England. By publicly supporting the team, Mandela brought other blacks onside as well, and brought blacks and whites together as they all rallied around the team. It was really very moving to watch the barriers come crashing down in so many ways.
Morgan Freeman was very good as Mandela - as good as anyone could have played the difficult part of a man who is truly a living legend. Matt Damon was excellent as the captain of the Springboks (the name of the South African team.) His family were suspicious of Mandela, and yet once he actually met Mandela, he quickly bought into the desire to unify the country around the symbol of the team. Damon seemed to capture the essence of the character well.
I'm not a rugby fan, so the actual scenes of the matches meant little to me (although they were very well shot, and did offer an sort of "you are there" type of experience.) There was some beautiful scenery shot in the course of the movie and you do feel moved as - so to speak - the walls come tumbling down.