So I saw this movie, Invictus, many years ago. Don't believe that I saw it in the movie theater, but I did see it not too long after it came out.
However, it did not leave quite as much of an impression with me that time the way that it managed to do this time around.
Invictus is a 2009 movie which was directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon plays South Africa national team star and captain Francois Pienaar. The events which this film portrays took place in the mid-nineties, while South Africa was still largely transitioning from the oppressive white minority rule of apartheid to a multiracial democracy.
Perhaps things were different this time around because I actually recognized some of the places portrayed in this movie from having been there. Somehow, it felt more real, more urgent. Or perhaps my mindset was not quite as in tune, for whatever the reason, the first time viewing this movie.
However, this time around was indeed different. This time, I really appreciated the performance as well as the story it was trying to tell. Also, the circumstances under which this true story actually took place, for that matter.
Okay, so let's talk about it in greater detail.
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this movie already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning.
So are we ready to talk in more detail about this movie?
Let me just say that both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were solid in these roles. There might be one thing to point out, however. It felt to me that at times, Morgan Freeman suddenly sounded a lot less like Mandela and a lot more like...well, Morgan Freeman, complete with the American accent. A relatively minor criticism, but it did catch my attention.
Otherwise, they were both solid in these roles.
Alright, so yes, this movie is set in South Africa just as it is beginning to transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy. The very first scene takes place in February of 1990, on the very day when Mandela was released from prison. It shows privileged white kids - Afrikaners - playing rugby on a lush field of green grass. Across the street, there are black children playing football (or soccer) on a field that looks a lot less green, and more like a dusty and rough plot of land. Both of these games (or practices?) are stopped as the Mandela motorcade passes by. The reactions from both sides are radically different, of course. The black children run enthusiastically towards the motorcade and show their love and adoration for Madiba. Meanwhile, the Afrikaners are considerably less enthusiastic, with the coach outright telling his young players that this is the day when the country went to the dogs.
Thus, the stage is set for a lot of the friction which exists for the duration of the film.
So the movie briefly touches on the historical transition from apartheid to Mandela's inauguration. It shows him feeling quite overwhelmed with all of the problems he is facing as head of the nation, as well as dealing with some family issues much closer to home. We catch a glimpse of a more human version of Mandela than the monumental figure in history that has become more the stuff of legend than of anyone on a human scale.
Mandela is clearly trying to appeal to other countries, to open up business relations with South Africa. To generate revenue and improve South Africa's image around the world. There is one major opportunity for the country: the upcoming Rugby World Cup, which South Africa will soon host in 1995.
Now, here is where things begin to get a little bit more involved. You have to understand the reality of the situation as it then existed, with Mandela as a man, with South Africa as a country still working on reforming and exorcising past demons, and with the rugby team struggling. Mandela repeatedly states in this movie that South Africa was a nation in need of a miracle. Indeed, hosting the rugby World Cup tournament seemed likely all of the miracle it would get. Winning the championship given their own struggles, and given the strength of some of the sides which would be playing in the '95 World Cup seemed to be quite a stretch.
Until well into 1994, South Africa was still under the control of the white minority government from the apartheid era. While South Africa had been in transition away from apartheid since 1990, the first popular government elected by a multiracial election in April of 1994 brought the first majority black government rule in the nation's history. While it certainly could have been worse, there were tensions and fears across the spectrum. Many whites feared retaliation and retribution, by blacks, while many blacks and other minorities still viewed whites through the lens of the oppression which was still quite recent and raw.
How did rugby enter into the equation?
Well, the racial divide was quite visible with sports, as well. The black majority favored football/soccer as their favorite sport. But among whites - particularly Afrikaners - the most popular sport was rugby. The Springboks were the beloved national team, with their distinctive green and gold colors. During the anti-apartheid struggle, blacks - including Nelson Mandela - would tend to root against the Springboks, pulling instead for whoever happened to be playing against them. Those attitudes were not simply going to change right away.
Early in the movie, we see a council representing the new black majority government moving to change the name and colors of the rugby team permanently and immediately. Afrikaners would no longer be able to root for or watch their beloved Springboks. At least, that was how the vote was going, until Nelson Mandela showed up in person. He warned that this was petty revenge, trying to take away an institution which was particularly and truly beloved by the Afrikaners. Mandela was taking a political risk, as this was not a particularly popular opinion. Many blacks indeed wanted some revenge against whites - and again, especially Afrikaners - in any way that they could. Also, it seemed like Mandela was suddenly defending Afrikaners, a position many simply did not understand. But Mandela's argument was that the white minority were also South Africans, and past divisions should be left in the past if all South Africans were to feel welcome in the new "Rainbow nation."
So the Springboks name and colors would be preserved. One of the major things which Afrikaners truly loved would continue unaltered. However, there were still questions. First of all, would the Springboks be competitive? Secondly, even if they fared well in the tournament, could they actually gain the support of South Africa behind them, being predominately Afrikaner?
Nelson Mandela clearly wanted it to happen. He had reversed his course from actively rooting against the Springboks. Now, he saw them as possibly a unifying force for the new South Africa. While soccer might be the most popular sport (by far) among the black majority, the South African soccer team was not especially good or going to bring glory to the country. But the rugby team traditionally had been very good, and could potentially fare well against international competition.
However, the early results were disappointing losses. The Springboks just did not look good with less than a year to go before the upcoming World Cup tournament. Mandela met with the captain, Francois Pienaar, in Pretoria. He talked about leadership and inspiring those around him to be better, to dig in deeper and produce better results. After the meeting, we see Pienaar almost unable to speak after the meeting. When asked what Mandela had wanted to speak to him about, Pienaar remained quiet, then hesitantly said that he believed Mandela wanted the Springboks to win the World Cup.
The movie keeps going back and forth between the challenges which Mandela faces, both personal and political, while also watching a "Rocky" kind of inspirational story of the Springboks, who slowly but surely, at the behest of Mandela and Pienaar, try to build inroads to being accepted by all of South Africa. We see them working hard to become the fittest team of the World Cup tournament, but we also see them visiting poor townships and getting black youths a little more acclimated with rugby, and of course pulling for the national team.
Once the World Cup tournament begins, South Africa has to start with a tough game right off the bat. They face Australia, but a win there would help them win their group and clear a workable path to the World Cup Final. Mandela seems increasingly obsessed with how the Springboks are doing, and the challenges that they might or will face. Once they get past Australia, they work their way through the group state and into elimination rounds. Indeed, they do qualify for the Final.
Unfortunately for them, they have the toughest test yet waiting for them in that game. The All-Blacks of New Zealand are considered by some to be the finest rugby team in history at that point. They set the record for highest score ever produced in a World Cup tournament just days earlier. Now, South Africa had the considerable task of not just slowing them down, but of somehow managing to defeat them.
That's a very tall order.
Of course, South Africa somehow does slow down the All-Blacks. It is a low scoring affair, a back and forth kind of a game that goes into extra time. Then, somehow, South Africa manages to just squeak by with the win.
It is all over. Just like that, the South African rugby team has pulled off one of the huge upsets and miracles in modern sports history.
And remember, this is not just a Hollywood movie. It is a depiction of events which actually happened! This particular South African miracle was real.
Personally, I felt that this was a very good and inspiring movie. Morgan Freeman is solid as Mandela, save for some of those slips with his American accent suddenly, inexplicably returning from time to time. Meanwhile, Matt Damon also is solid as the largely quiet Francois Pienaar. It gives us a glimpse into South Africa during that country's greatest chapter of massive reform during modern times. And it does so largely without lecturing or anything like that. You really do get a feel for what the transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy might have looked like from the inside, especially in the world of sports.
Highly recommended.
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