Invictus (2009)

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Anthony Peckham (screenplay), John Carlin (book)

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Nelson Mandela
Matt Damon	...	Francois Pienaar
Tony Kgoroge	...	Jason Tshabalala
Patrick Mofokeng	...	Linga Moonsamy
Matt Stern	...	Hendrick Booyens
Julian Lewis Jones	...	Etienne Feyder
Adjoa Andoh	...	Brenda Mazibuko
Marguerite Wheatley	...	Nerine
Leleti Khumalo	...	Mary
Patrick Lyster	...	Mr. Pienaar
Penny Downie	...	Mrs. Pienaar
Sibongile Nojila	...	Eunice
Bonnie Henna	...	Zindzi
Shakes Myeko	...	Minister of Sport
Louis Minnaar	...	Springbok Coach (as Louis Minaar)

Storyline

The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

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Plot Keywords:

rugby | south africa | nelson mandela | president | apartheid | 

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Taglines:

He was a prisoner who became a president. To unite his country, he asked one man to do the impossible.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [fr] Warner Bros. [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Afrikaans Maori Zulu Xhosa Southern Sotho

Release Date:

11 December 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Human Factor

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,068,388 (UK) (5 February 2010)

Gross:

$37,479,778 (USA) (19 March 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Spyglass Entertainment, Revelations Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

McNeil Hendricks:  nicknamed "Maccie", as Chester Williams, the Springboks' only black player. Hendricks was capped twice for South Africa in 1998, and has been a professional rugby player with Blue Bulls and Western Provine.

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Goofs

Shortly after you see a group of maids preparing Nelson Mandela's breakfast table, and Mandela having a shave, you briefly see a Metrorail train in the gray and yellow colors. In the early '90s these trains would have been maroon with silver roofs.

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Quotes

[first lines]
High School Boy: [seeing passing motorcade] Who is it, sir?
High School Coach: It's the terrorist Mandela, they let him out. Remember this day boys, this is the day our country went to the dogs.

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Crazy Credits

The 1994 Warner Brothers logo is used, in keeping with the time period of the film.

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Connections

Featured in Live from Studio Five: Episode #1.94 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Invictus 9,000 Days"
(2009)
Music by Clint Eastwood and Michael Stevens
Lyrics by Dina Eastwood and Emile Welman
Performed by Overtone and Yollandi Nortjie

User Reviews

Just one great film

People forget that Nelson Mandela came to power at a time when his country was bitterly divided. There was the bitter experience that white South Africans saw in their neighboring countries,i.e., Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and other nations where the White colonialist had been replaced by Black African politicians and a stable government had been replaced by corrupt, self-serving regimes where those in power feathered their nests after seizing the assets of their former White citizens and placed all their friends in positions of authority with the result of the country going to the dogs. The scene where the Afrikaaner newspaper remarks, "Mendela can get elected but can he run a country," and the superb Morgan Freeman remarks to his bodyguard that the headline raises a good point.

In a sense, this film is about Mandela. The rugby team becomes a metaphor of what he faced when ascending to the presidency, a nation divided. Noting that the Black South Africans were cheering for the opposition in the face of the old Apartheid guard whose love of rugby unified them. It's easy to forget that there was a great division among White South Africans, i.e., the descendants of the Boers, Afrikaaners, and the rest. There was even a middle ground with the "Coloreds," Asian South Africans, being caught between these two worlds and there were bitter rivalries among the competing African political interest groups as well.

Mandela's focus on reviving the national rugby team and making it a symbol of a new united nation homes in on the role of Matt Damon, an Afrikaaner who's the captain of the team. Francois is the catalyst that makes this story work and Damon, the rugged Mick from Boston, does a fantastic job showing the transition from hopelessness to hope as many White South Africans felt at that time. The wonderful thing about this film is its touching on all the levels. It goes beyond being merely the story of a single man or group of men. Sure, we love a "feel good" movie and of course we love an "underdog can win" flick, but this film works works because its about people working together to rebuild something new for everybody.

The film reeks with great moments: Pienaar visiting the cell where Mandela spent more than 20 years of his life, thinking and planning; The New Zealand Rugby team doing their Maori threat dance before the match; the jet buzzing the field before the game-- and so on. See it. Enjoy it. And, don't forget, it's a bit of history. Romanticized? Somewhat. Mandela wasn't able to solve all of South Africa's big problems, but he did one bang-up job for the Springboks.