CLINT EASTWOOD's latest Oscar entry, "Invictus", is based on the book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" by John Carlin, the true story of South Africa's miraculous triumph over New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Nelson Mandela languished in prison for 27 years. After gaining his freedom, he returned to politics and won in 1994 as the first black president of a country that has been divided for years by apartheid or racial segregation. Mandela's philosophy revolves on forgiveness, kindness and reconciliation. How he copes with the challenge to reunite his country's black and white denizens without fostering animosity from either group is beautifully depicted in the movie.
The title "Invictus" is the Latin word for "unconquerable" and is also the title of a poem written in 1875 by British poet William Ernest Henley. After he won the election, the question asked about Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is: "He can win an election, but can he run a country?" If he's not careful, South Africa may just be plunged into civil war. But Mandela practices his policy of magnanimity right on his first day as president. He asks white staffers to stay on and serve him. The leader of his security men was shocked when Mandela asks him and his men to work side by side with white bodyguards who used to terrorize black people. Eventually, they realize the significance of having members of both races working at the office of the president.
The white bodyguards are amazed at how hardworking Mandela is. He's also personally interested in their personal lives and always shows his appreciation of their work. His chief of staff, Brenda (Adjoa Andoh), wants him to focus on political affairs, but when he learns that the sports commission aims to junk the national rugby team called Springbok, composed mainly of white players, he delivers a meaningful speech saying that if they would do this, they will only widen the gap between whites and blacks and this will begin a new cycle of hatred in each race. He says he wants to develop a "rainbow nation" of various colors.
The Springbok team captain is Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) and he's not happy that his team loses regularly. He gets surprised when he's invited to tea by the president. Mandela tells the non-political athlete it's important to inspire people in building up their nation. He lifts up Pineaar's aspirations to see that it's possible for their team to turn around and win the World Cup. To inspire him more, Mandela tells him about his favorite poem, "Invictus", which he relied upon while in jail.
As the story of an underachieving team that surmounts all odds, "Invictus" is meant to be a crowd pleaser. At first, it looks like that the team has very slim chances of winning. The black population also do not totally sympathize with the white rugby players. But eventually, the entire nation stands behind the Springbok and cheers the players on. The film has the usual cliche techniques in underdog sports flicks but Eastwood as a director tries to tone them down to make the team's journey to victory quite credible. As the movie gets to its rousing finale, it's not possible for the viewer notto be carried away by the stirring action on screen.
Morgan Freeman should be given the lion's share of credit for his masterful portrayal of Nelson Mandela, a courteuos and charismatic leader who can transform people with the power of forgiveness. This is not a biopic on Mandela as it just focuses on a particular episode of his early presidency. But if ever they'd consider to do such a filmbio, then Freeman would surely be the primary consideration. A buffed and blonde Matt Damon also does well as Pineaar but somehow, we feel that the scenes between him and Freeman lack power and poignancy when it's these meetings that are supposed to have inspired Pineaar as team captain to encourage all his players to do their best for the country.
The film ends quoting the most famous lines of the poem, "Invictus": "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul." We used to say that all the time when we were younger. But now, we know it's only half true. In the end, it's the Lord who's still in control and everything is grace.
