Invictus – Review Dedicated to Nelson Mandela

This is a special movie, about a very special historical character. The recent death of President Nelson Mandela, made this movie more than special. It is a ten on my list, and that’s amazing because I’m not very fond of Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman or Matt Damon. They are all great and awarded, and they all participated to give value to the movie. Clint Eastwood uses some cheap emotional clichés in almost every movie, so they are classic by now. This movie is a masterpiece. It shows without flaws how Nelson Mandela used to be a very strong personality with a great character. He really cared for his country and its people.

[source](for all pictures in this post except the one from Daily Mail)

The movie slightly touches many of the aspects of Nelson Mandela’s history until his first term as President of South Africa. It is based on the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, written by a journalist, John Carlin. It was inevitable for someone like Eastwood to not change the name in something really dramatic (in the Unforgiven spirit) like Invictus, which is the Latin for “undefeated” or “unconquered”. This may be the matter with Mandela, who was unconquered by his twenty seven years of incarceration, who was forgot by the leftist media during the seventies. He was regarded as a terrorist by his own country’s government and by other governments in the Western World. He became again the awareness core, in 1998, on a Wembley Stadium Political-Pop Concert, organized by producer and impresario Tony Hollingsworth, with funds from The Anti-Apartheid Movement, African National Congress and some other fund raising sources. The AA President was at the time, Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, a former priest in South Africa. I have seen the event, who was broadcasted in sixty seven countries.

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It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

This is the last verse from the poem “Invictus”, written by the English poet William Ernest Henley, and published in 1875. Mandela allegedly gave this poem to Francois Pienaar, the South African National Rugby team’s captain, to inspire him to persuade the team to win the World Rugby Championship in 1995. The movie is roughly based on that fact. I have to mention that I haven’t read the book. Anyway, after showing us the frictions between whites and black people in South Africa, with glimpses from the past, with frictions between African National Congress’ leaders and factions as well, in a time when they had to remain united, the movie centers toward the apparent goal, the final victory for “Springbok”, how the team was called. It was not easy, and it is also alleged that the “white” love for the team and the “black” love for Mandela, would unite the people toward a greater goal, for the establishment of South African Republic as an independent and “safe” country.

Invictus is a 2009 production, directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Anthony Peckham and John Carlin, the book’s author. It has not a bad rating, it’s a 7.8 imdb (out of ten). 134 minutes running. It stars Morgan Freeman as President Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the rugby team’s captain. It is said that Damon is actually much taller than any other member of that team, especially his played character. Also stars are Adjoa Andoh as Brenda Mazibuko, Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala, Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne Feyder, Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy, Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens, Marguerite Wheatley as Nerine Winter.
Produced by Clint Eastwood, Lori McCreary, Robert Lorenz, Mace Neufeld.
Exceptional movie, it’s still clear in my mind, even if I haven’t watched it more than once, and not quite recently.

Here you have the trailer, in the same Eastwood “Hollywood Drama” style:
 

 

 

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