An event that helped shape a nation

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2010)

From a close intimate encounter with one of the greatest leaders of our time, to a big joyful sports event that helped shape a nation, Invictus will take you on a journey of discovery of the crucial elements that inspire us in life. In the early 1990's the world went through major political changes that were coming in the wake of the walls falling in Berlin in August 1989. In 1990 Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in prison. In 1994 he was elected the President of South Africa. Invictus takes us back to 1995, just one year after Mandela was elected president, in a time when he struggled to gain the confidence of the white population and had to live up to the expectations of the blacks. South Africa is the host country for the upcoming Rugby World Cup and Nelson Mandela cease the opportunity to make this event, and the nations Rugby team "the Springboks", a catalyst for uniting the nation. Clint Eastwood brings us into the world of Mandela and show us a man that is torn between the love of his country and the love of his family. Eastwood manages to create a good balance of personal reflections and the public difficulties that Mandela faced at this time. The overall atmosphere of the movie is quite uplifting in contrast to what is characteristic about Eastwood's movies such as the gloomy setting in Mystic River or the melancholic sports drama in Million Dollar Baby. Mandela is played by Morgan Freeman who has studied Mandela in great detail and spend much time with him in real life. His work sure paid off as he comes off the screen as the real soft spoken and yet authoritative leader we all know so well. The other important character in the movie is the Springboks captain Francois Pienaar. Pienaar is played by Matt Damon that does a good job of showing the white man's perspective and help us realize the questions that runs through his mind in his search for understanding the changes his the country is going through with Mandela as the new leader.
The real life story that Invictus is based upon, recorded by the journalist John Carlin's in his book "Playing the enemy", makes this one of the best biography movie I have seen this year. It does not try to explain all of Mandela's life but give us a glimpse into a crucial moment in his life and help us understand the qualities that made him a great leader and what ultimately made him the man elected by blacks and whites to unite South Africa.