Invictus

Invictus

By Jonathan Fisher, January 22nd, 2009

Sport is a great healer. I was nine years old when South Africa won the rugby World Cup in 1995. At that age, of course, I couldn’t have possibly understood just how tumultuous South Africa’s recent history had been, and how significant and amazing it was that they managed to lift the Webb Ellis trophy. I was more disappointed that Australia were knocked out so early in the tournament.
As I’ve aged, and since I’ve spent a few years living in South Africa’s close neighbour, Zimbabwe, I’ve come to appreciate Nelson Mandela as one of the most remarkable men in history. That a man could spend decades imprisoned by Afrikaaners, only to be released, become President, and forgive everything, still staggers me. It’s even more staggering that he managed to make a country of 40 million people, rife with mutual resentment and suspicion, rally around him. Of course there is still heavy racial tension in South Africa, and there probably always will be, but were it not for Mandela’s use of forgiveness as a weapon to bring about solidarity, South Africa would still be in the grips of a brutal civil war. Clint Eastwood’s Invictus tells the story of the South African rugby team’s victory in the 1995 World Cup, revealing how Nelson Mandela pulled the strings from behind the scenes to help ensure such a unifying and healing event took place.

Morgan Freeman finally gets his chance to play Nelson Mandela (he has been linked to the role in various projects for over a decade), and embodies the spirit of the man exceptionally. The film begins with his release from prison and election as President before fast-forwarding to the lead-up to the World Cup in 1995. The Springboks, led by Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), an Afrikaaner raised in a racist family, are in a lot of trouble. With less than a year to go before the World Cup, they’re losing matches heavily. There is a movement among the newly empowered black majority to abolish the rugby team’s name and colours -- symbols so close to the hearts of the Afrikaaner community -- and replace them with something that resonates more with the black populace. Mandela knows that to do this would be a kick in the guts for South African race relations. Imagine the resentment that would be created if an Aboriginal man were elected Prime Minister and changed the name of the Wallabies.

Mandela delivers an impassioned speech (there are plenty of those in this movie, if only because Mandela did deliver many impassioned speeches) to the South African Sports Association pleading them not to change the name and colours of the national rugby team. Like all of Mandela’s softly- spoken but steel-tempered actions, it worked. Mandela then decides to convince Springbok captain Pienaar of the significance for the country that winning the World Cup would represent.

Invictus works as both a snapshot of an extraordinary time in world history, and as an effective sports movie. If it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Eastwood’s best work, it’s because he gets a little carried away with the pathos of it all. There are a few scenes that add little to the rest of the film, apart from explaining the inner workings of Mandela’s philosophy that any thinking person should be able to work out for themselves. Eastwood does lay it on a little thick in certain segments of the film -- a young black boy who listens to the radio broadcast of the World Cup final with two white police officers, a contrived relationship between two of Mandela’s protective assignment that manages to overcome racial obstacles because of the sporting event. Perhaps Eastwood can be forgiven for getting a little over-enthusiastic about his material, simply because the material is so inspiring.

The climax of the film is essentially the climax of any sports movie, with the last twenty or so minutes of the film devoted to the World Cup final. As someone who remembers seeing that final through very young eyes 15 years ago, I reflected on just how remarkably book-ended those real events turned out to be. Even the film’s inclusion of a jumbo jet flying over the stadium with “Go Bokke!” on its undercarriage actually happened. The final went into heart-stopping extra time, and even though not a try was scored, I remember being absolutely glued to the screen. I can only imagine how much more important it must have felt for Mandela and the rest of his country. As the film presents it, it’s difficult not to resist the lump forming in the back of your throat.

Invictus ends on what is possibly an overly-optimistic note. The World Cup win was a remarkable moment, not only in sporting history but in the history of South Africa as a country. But it did not bring about the end of racial tension in South Africa. Much resentment and fear still remains between segments of the black and Afrikaaner population. But Invictus nonetheless paints a portrait of Mandela as he is: one of the most inspiring and remarkable secular leaders in history.

Trailer for Invictus: