Film Review/Analysis - Invictus (2009) Andrew Wu
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When Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994, and apartheid was banished, racial tensions between the white minority and the black majority were very high. Join this with crime, poverty and poor trade, and Nelson Mandela has a huge task on his hands. So he turns to rugby to unite the apartheid-torn land. (Rugby, you say? Don't criticize rugby, please.) His mission? To win the 1995 Rugby World Cup (which was also hosted by South Africa).
Right from the very beginning of the film we can see that racial tensions and inequality still existed. This is shown at the beginning where Mandela (who is played brilliantly by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman) is driven across a 2 football fields on either side of the road with white boys playing rugby on grass, and rugged black boys play football in a dirt pitch. The tensions are further heightened when the black kids shout "Madiba!", while the white coach says "This is the day out country went to the dogs". Director Clint Eastwood uses this scene to highlight the inequality and racism between the whites and the blacks, which is represented in the contrast of the two fields and the fences which bar them uniting.
From there Mandela heads to his office and asks both white (SAS) and black (ANC) bodyguards to protect him, which is of particular concern to his head bodyguard Jason, who is black. Mandela's speech to Jason is particularly powerful, as he wants to set an example to the people that he wants them to unite and be friendly towards each other, which is shown in "The rainbow nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness starts here too." This is probably one of the most powerful and touching scenes of the entire film.
Another powerful scene, shot again by Eastwood, is when the South African Springboks agree to play rugby with some African kids. The racial tensions are still shown, when the kids crowd around Chester, the only African player, but Mandela's orders to Francois Piennar (captain of Springboks) for them to play rugby with the kids draws attention to the fact that Mandela wants a society free from racism and inequality, which are all qualities of a clever, brave and courageous leader. This is probably one of the most emotional scenes of the entire film.
There are, of course, other wonderful scenes too, but you'll have to see the movie to find them out (e.g. the ending scene, but please watch the movie first).
So, in summary, I have nothing but praise for this film. Praise for its director, its actors, its composer, its scriptwriter, its cinematographer, and all the rest of the team. Sure, everyone knows the ending, the rugby match time was rather brief, and some of the characters are not explored well enough and lack emotion (especially Jason), but the powerful performance by Freeman combined with Eastwood's masterful direction create a movie that is very inspiring and enjoyable, and one that is much more than a sport movie.
8.5/10
P.S. The name "Invictus" is a poem by William Ernest Henley, and was used by Mandela to support himself on the long years on Robben Island.
Right from the very beginning of the film we can see that racial tensions and inequality still existed. This is shown at the beginning where Mandela (who is played brilliantly by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman) is driven across a 2 football fields on either side of the road with white boys playing rugby on grass, and rugged black boys play football in a dirt pitch. The tensions are further heightened when the black kids shout "Madiba!", while the white coach says "This is the day out country went to the dogs". Director Clint Eastwood uses this scene to highlight the inequality and racism between the whites and the blacks, which is represented in the contrast of the two fields and the fences which bar them uniting.
From there Mandela heads to his office and asks both white (SAS) and black (ANC) bodyguards to protect him, which is of particular concern to his head bodyguard Jason, who is black. Mandela's speech to Jason is particularly powerful, as he wants to set an example to the people that he wants them to unite and be friendly towards each other, which is shown in "The rainbow nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness starts here too." This is probably one of the most powerful and touching scenes of the entire film.
Another powerful scene, shot again by Eastwood, is when the South African Springboks agree to play rugby with some African kids. The racial tensions are still shown, when the kids crowd around Chester, the only African player, but Mandela's orders to Francois Piennar (captain of Springboks) for them to play rugby with the kids draws attention to the fact that Mandela wants a society free from racism and inequality, which are all qualities of a clever, brave and courageous leader. This is probably one of the most emotional scenes of the entire film.
There are, of course, other wonderful scenes too, but you'll have to see the movie to find them out (e.g. the ending scene, but please watch the movie first).
So, in summary, I have nothing but praise for this film. Praise for its director, its actors, its composer, its scriptwriter, its cinematographer, and all the rest of the team. Sure, everyone knows the ending, the rugby match time was rather brief, and some of the characters are not explored well enough and lack emotion (especially Jason), but the powerful performance by Freeman combined with Eastwood's masterful direction create a movie that is very inspiring and enjoyable, and one that is much more than a sport movie.
8.5/10
P.S. The name "Invictus" is a poem by William Ernest Henley, and was used by Mandela to support himself on the long years on Robben Island.