The title of the movie, Invictus, which is the title of William Ernest Henley's inspirational poem from 1875, about one's head being bloody but unbowed, and being the captain of one's soul. This poem unfortunately found its fame in 1995 when Timothy McVeigh was responsible for detonating a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, of that year, killing 168 people. He was then sentenced to death. Timothy McVeigh‘s last words were from the poem Invictus meaning unconquered; this gave the poem a dire reputation.
I believe the movie was named Invictus not only because it conveniently fits perfectly with the subject of the film but to change the way people thought when hearing this poem, to think of South Africa’s memorable past not of a terrible act of cruelty. Nelson Mandela kept a copy of the poem which him while in prison to keep his spirits up, and in this glassy-eyed movie version of the 1995 Rugby World Cup campaign – in which President Mandela sensationally backed the Springboks, as a brilliant gesture of reconciliation with white South Africans, the president gives a copy to the rugby captain of the Springboks François Pienaar.
The story of Nelson Mandela's first year in office and the partnership he formed with Francois Pienaar in the hopes of winning the World Cup creates a sea of emotions and touches even the ‘strongest’ of people. Clint Eastwood remains, at 79, a brave and unpredictable director of sincere and beautifully made Hollywood pictures.
The movie starts with real footage of Nelson Mandela becoming president of South Africa; this shows the full impact he has on South Africa. The movie is like a history lesson at times. If you want to know about South Africa’s past then it’s a movie for you. The next scene is Mandela driving down the road, on one side young black children playing football on wasteland and the other side are a group of young white boys playing rugby on well cared for grass. As Mandela passes the black boys reach over the fence waving and shouting however on the other side the coach of the white boys rugby team states ‘this is the day our country went to the dogs’. This shows the full scale of South Africa’s segregation.
Throughout the whole movie there are some very moving scenes. For example when the Springboks tour the poorest parts of South Africa, all the young black children chant and cheer for the only black rugby player in the Springbok team. To them, Chester is a hero for doing what he is doing which in previous years would have been impossible. The scene’s use of inspirational music forces any viewer to quiver with happiness. The Springboks are teaching the deprived children how to play rugby and it illustrates the coming together of Africa, just like Mandela had hoped for. Even I can admit I shed a tear. It’s a scene to remember and brings hope to the destroyed country.
Another rousing scene is the one in which the Springboks visit the prison Nelson Mandela had been confined to. Pienaar tries to imagine what life was like there, and on the soundtrack Mandela reads "Invictus“(which had sustained him in prison), which ends with the lines "I am the master of my fate/ I am the captain of my soul" (which had sustained him in prison). The camera follows Pienaar as he tours the prison. He visualises Mandela being in there for a long time and sees him working and reading in his tiny cell. The use of the flashbacks gives the viewers a real sense as to how it feels to be imprisoned like Mandela was for such a long time.
I personally felt the movie dragged on too long. At the beginning there was not a lot going on and therefore it began to feel tiresome. The audience were just waiting for the climax so we had something to keep us awake during the whole film. Don’t get me wrong there were most definitely high tension scenes but they were mainly at the end rather than the beginning.
The rest of Invictus follows the Springboks' unlikely push towards the World Cup final, where they face-off against New Zealand. It also shows how black people were beginning to be included in major national events. After a lifetime playing Cinderella, the Pienaar family’s black maid was invited to attend the ball. Outside the stadium, a pair of white policemen listen to the match on their car radio while a black urchin eavesdrops a short distance away. At the start the police shoo the boy away but by the end they had invited the boy to listen in with them; in fact by the time the contest has reached its conclusion, the police had hoisted the kid on their shoulders and who know maybe they were planning to pay his way through college. Invictus is that kind of movie.
The effects and storyline did not make this movie the way it was alone. The acting played a major part. With award winning actor Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela he definitely did him justice. Freeman turns in a diligent, nuanced impersonation that at least hints at the private man behind the public image. His Mandela is by turns intelligent and cunning; his seraphic smile concealing a life of shadows. Meanwhile, Matt Damon makes a good fist of his role as Pienaar, although his character is hardly ever allowed to be more than a plot device.
The film Invictus is overall an inspirational and motivating movie. With the use of different soundtracks coinciding with the storyline, having real pictures from South Africa’s past and using special effects and wonderful acting it all comes together to form the incredible motion picture. I rate the movie 4 out of 5 because although there were many emotional scenes the lack of excitement at the beginning made the film less engaging. The movie is still an emotional and rousing film and I highly recommend it.
