From NetFlix:
In this drama based on real-life events, director Clint Eastwood tells the story of what happened after the end of apartheid when newly elected president Nelson Mandela used the 1995 World Cup rugby matches to unite his people in South Africa. Based on John Carlin’s book, the film stars Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon (both Oscar nominated) as Francois Pienaar, the captain of the scrappy South African team that makes a run for the championship
Invictus is a short Victorian poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley. The text is as follows:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.It matters not how strait the gait,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Nelson Mandela used this poem as a personal prayer to see him through 30 years of imprisonment. “Invictus” means “unconquered”.
As a piece of art, the film is mediocre. There may be at least 5 scrums too many. It would help if you understood the game of rugby. Matt Damon is adequate. Morgan Freeman is perfect as Mandela. See Wikipedia for critical reviews.
When the plane flies low over the stadium, you are supposed to read something written on its lower side: “Good luck, Bokke!”
Despite all these comments, I found the film to be inspiring and meaningful.
I really liked this film, though the sound effects from the scrum were truly off-putting (definitely would make me not want to play rugby… not that it was under consideration)!
I had exactly the same sentiments as you Tony. In many ways it wasn’t a great film. The plot was a bit plodding. The script often felt clunky. The acting, at least from Matt Damon, a bit wooden.
But despite all that it somehow managed to be one of the most moving films I watched in the past year. Unlike the Manions, I’m not normally a crier in films, but I couldn’t hold them back watching this. There’s something about heart-stirring speeches and selfless acts of leadership that get me every time.