Invictus… Shows what a Game can do for a country.

A leader who wants to give his country an image it deserves. A leader who wants to show the power of forgiveness. A leader who thinks a game can be a fast track route for removing racism. These are some of the ways in which Nelson Mandela ran his country. And these are rightly shown in the latest Clint Eastwood release Invictus.

Invictus is the name of a poem written by William Ernest Henley in 1875. And it was the poem which gave Nelson Mandela the strength he needed to stand when all he wanted was to lie down. Meaning, the poem gave him the strength to withstand his 27 years of Jail. The reason why this movie is named Invictus is, because this poem gave the captain of the South African rugby team the strength he needed to face the opponents when they where going through a bad patch.

Coming to the film, the film starts during the time when the blacks in South Africa where getting their rights back and Nelson Mandela, the hero in their hearts.

The date: 11^th Feb 1990.

And the film starts with the punch. Nelson Mandela’s Convoy is passing a road where whites are seen playing professional Rugby on one side and the blacks are playing casual football on the other side. The black people are seen yelling Mandela’s Name again and again as he passes. And a white Rugby coach is seen telling his players “It is that terrorist Madela. They let him out. Remember this day boys. This is the day our country went to the dogs.” This opening scene tells us the situation which prevailed in South Africa so clearly that even a 10 page write up wont do. This clearly shows Eastwood’s experience in cinema and the understanding he has on the audience.

“Take your knifes, and your guns, and your pangas and throw them into the sea”

Soon after assuming office as the president of South Africa Nelson Mandela is seen as a person who forgets and forgives the torture shown on him by the whites and focuses on building the nation. He also asks the people of South Africa to forget and forgive the whites. The people accept it, but with a bitter pill. Nelson Mandela does many things from appoints white body guards for self and prevents formation of a separate rugby team for the blacks and then comes the important part. He wants the South Africa rugby team to win the 1995 world cup and that year South Africa is at its worst. To add a pinch of salt to the wound. South Africa is the host nation for that years World cup (1995).

“Soccer—it’s a gentleman’s game played by hooligans. On the other hand , rugby is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen”

Nelson Mandela shows more importance to Rugby than politics. May be the movie is about Rugby and that’s why we get that feeling. Then comes another important character François Pienaar who is the captain of the South African Rugby team played by Matt Damon. The real Pienaar is taller than Matt Damon.(see the pics).

Mandela wants the blacks to support the Springboks (South African team’s name) because usually the whites support Springboks and the blacks support the team playing against the Springboks. And Mandela also used to support the teams playing against the Springboks. Field trips by Springboks manage to create some love on the team. Watch out for that scene. A pleasing back ground score makes the scene a pleasure to watch.

“After all, if I cannot change when circumstances demand it. How can I expect others to?”

Matt Damon does a neat job. He underplays his role and very well eats lesser than what is served to him. And the film moves in this manner where slowly the springboks start winning and they are tested in the finals. There is a bullying TV commentator who comes through out the film. And his role is to defame Springboks when they play bad and praise them when they play good. Pure commercial and Practical Journalism.

Watch out for the scene where a black rag picking boy listens to the radio but pretends to pick rags around a police car where two white policemen are busy listening to the commentary of the finals. Then the last scene touches your heart. We are really made to feel that a game can create history and that too faster than any number of talks would have.

The background music is soothing and good. It made me download the OST and listen to it separately. The rugby matches are shot beautifully and are edited in such a manner that we are shown just the crisp highlights.

Invictus is a long film but it is worth a rating of 4 out of 5. Eastwood is great and so are Mandela and François Pienaar. It’s one of the very few movies which gave me some inspiration. I have put some of the best sentences I came across when I watched the movie. But there are many more. Find out when you watch the movie yourself. Sometimes knowing some unknown history brings great pleasure.

“I thank what ever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”

I dedicate this review to my good old school friend Hari (Twitter id - @harih2s) who inspired me to see it.