Mandela whatever his politics, is a man viewed by many as a great champion of the dispossessed. Since his release from prison he has done much to bring healing to his country. While many of us viewed the 1995 Rugby World Cup as simply another outing for well-paid footballers and their wives, for Mandela the 1995 Rugby World Cup was yet another opportunity for black-men and white-men to sit beside each other and cheer for a common cause.
Mandela said, "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, and in a way that little else does". Mandela viewed the 1995 World Cup as another opportunity to move South Africa forward from its former darkness. Mandela wanted to heal and be healed by the wave of change in South Africa. We know that there is much work to be done, we know that much poverty and discrimination exists, but Mandela has a dream that we can all aspire to.
Yet Mandela was not alone in his dream, indeed, it would be impossible for one man to do what had to be done. Mandela the President of South Africa would team up with the Captain of South Africa's rugby team (the Sprinboks) to bring unity and healing to their nation. Francois Pienaar was a willing partner in this venture to bring hope and salvation to a new South Africa. Now this sensational story of hope and healing is brought to us in Invictus.
The ending of apartheid did not bring about an end to the misery and suffering of many millions of blacks in South Africa. Mandela has a dream of an Africa where his people are at one with each other, a rainbow nation. Mandela wants to unite his people with one voice through their love of their countries sporting heroes. Mandela knows that his nations rugby team are the under dogs of the 1995 Rugby World Cup yet he rallies the people to get behind their team.
The Springboks Green and Gold colours are to shine brightly in Mandela's vision of a rainbow South African nation. Even some of Mandela's most trusted followers and advisors ask him if he should be focusing on such an insignificant matter as sport when his country was in social and economic meltdown. But Mandela the man persisted.
Most black South Africans had viewed the Green and Gold of the south African rugby team as a symbol of all that was bad about apartheid. They remembered how their country was represented by white-men when they the blacks had been the natural majority in their own country. Yet Mandela knew that the Rugby team was a symbol of pride and purpose to the white minority. Mandela needed his people to unite, with him, in telling the white minority that they had a central place in black South Africa.
Carlin could see that Mandela wanted to turn a symbol of hate (Springboks) for black South Africans, into a symbol of hope and inspiration for all. While this film is explosive with its combination of Damon and Freeman, their wonder is only fully fulfilled by the role of the man who once played Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood is clearly written all over this magnificent movie.
This is a box office hit for me. This portrayal by Freeman is illuminating. The Mandela smile breaks through on Freeman's face as natural as the man himself. On one or two occasions I would say the South African accent plays tricks with Freeman, but this is small change when his overall portrayal is considered.
