Invictus (2009) (PG-13)

Director Clint Eastwood brings the story of one of Nelson Mandella’s (Morgan Freeman) first, and most novel, efforts toward uniting the people of South Africa. Politics was not the answer that would unify the racially divided, troubled nation that Nelson Mandella came to lead in 1995. Fear, mistrust and centuries of racial tensions filled the air as the first black man came to power in a nation that grew up on apartheid.

A true tale of a very clever presidential strategy, the story told in Invictus is but a snippet of  events that followed the election of Nelson Mandella to his position of leadership in South Africa. Yet it is enough to give an idea of the ways of a man able to put aside old hatreds, including his almost 30-year imprisonment, and begin healing his nation, socially and economically.

The white dominated South African rugby team, the Springbox, is facing the 1995 World Cup Championship games without a ghost of a chance of making a good showing. Out of contempt for racial discrimination, the black people of South Africa root for any team other than the Springbox.
The situation, steeped in irreconcilable differences between the divided populace, looks grim. It is then that President Mandella meets with the captain of the national rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), and convinces him that the team could play a major role in uniting the nation. Insipired by the man and is obvious dedication to his country, Pienaar leads his team to new heights.

With stellar performances by Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon working under the fine directional eye of Clint Eastwood, the film is a jewel. Not a story of South African history, a treatise on apartheid or a bio of Nelson Mandella, but it is a tale of one small, clever step in easing racial tensions in a historically divided country. Uplifting entertainment! 4