Invictus (2009)

Invictus is a 2009 biographical drama film based on events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted in that country following the dismantling of apartheid. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film stars Morgan Freeman as South African President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as François Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, the South African rugby union team. The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation. Invictus was released in the United States on December 11, 2009. The title Invictus may be translated from the Latin as undefeated or unconquered.

After decades in a Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is released in 1990 and works immediately to bring about the end of apartheid and the initiation of full democratic elections; in such an election, the black majority population can vote. Mandela wins the race for President of South Africa and takes office in 1994. His immediate challenge is "balancing black aspirations with white fears." Racial tensions from the apartheid era have not completely disappeared. This is seen, in part, through Mandela's security team, which consists of both black and white officials, who are immediately hostile to each other despite sharing the same job and goal. Nevertheless, one of the white officials notes later on that he prefers Mandela to F.W. de Klerk, his old boss. While Mandela attempts to tackle the country's largest problems—crime and unemployment, among many others—he attends a game of the Springboks, the country's rugby union team. Mandela recognizes that non-whites in the stadium cheer against their home squad, as the Springboks (their history, players, and even their colours) represent prejudice and apartheid in their minds, and remarks that he used to do the same thing on Robben Island. Knowing that South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in one year's time, Mandela convinces a meeting of the newly-black-dominated South African Sports Committee not to change the Springboks' name and colours. He then arranges a meeting with the captain of the Springboks rugby team, François Pienaar (Matt Damon). Though Mandela does not verbalize his true meaning during their meeting, Pienaar understands the message below the surface: if the Springboks can gain the support of non-white South Africans and succeed in the upcoming Rugby World Cup, the country will be unified and inspired to exceed its expectations. Mandela also shares with Pienaar that a poem, "Invictus", had been inspiring to him during his time in prison, helping him to "stand when all he wanted to do was lie down". Pienaar and his teammates train, but the players (all but one are white) voice disapproval that they are to be envoys to the poor and public, fearing exhaustion from overwork. Mandela, too, hears disapproval from friends and family. Many more, both white and non-white citizens and politicians, began to express doubts on using sport to unite a nation torn apart by some 50 years of racial tensions. For many non-whites, especially the radicals, the Springboks symbolised white supremacy and they did not want to support their national team. However, both Mandela and Pienaar stand firmly behind their theory that the game can be used to successfully unite the country. As the tournament approaches, Mandela collapses from exhaustion and the Springboks' only non-white player, Chester Williams, is sidelined with a pulled hamstring. Things begin to change, however, as the players interact with the locals. During the opening games, support for the Springboks begins to grow amongst the non-white population. By the second game Williams is fit once again. Citizens of all races turn out in numbers to show their support for the Springboks. At the suggestion of several security guards, Mandela sports a Springbok jersey with Pienaar's number 6 on it to show his support, and his name is chanted repeatedly by the home crowd during his entrance, a contrast to a previous rugby match scene, in which Mandela is booed by some in the crowd. As momentum builds, even the security team members become at ease with each other and the black members who were not interested in the sport, eventually began to enthusiastically support their national team alongside their white colleagues. The Springboks, and possessing a sub-par record, were not expected to go very far: they were expected to lose in the quarterfinals. They surpass all expectations and make the final, only to face the New Zealand All Blacks—the most successful rugby team in the world at the moment, and the favourites to win the World Cup. The All Blacks were at that time considered an invincible team with only the Wallabies from Australia seen as being anywhere near capable of beating them. The All Blacks, with their star Jonah Lomu in devastating form, were expected to defeat the Springboks. Prior to the game, the Springbok team is taken on a trip to Robben Island, where Mandela spent nearly 30 years in prison. There, Pienaar is shown Mandela's cell and has a vision of Mandela among the inmates. Later that night Pienaar mentions his amazement that Mandela "could spend thirty years in a tiny cell, and come out ready to forgive the people who put [him] there." Scenes prior to the game depict a man studying Ellis Park Stadium, the venue the final is to take place, and others of the Security team discussing the safety of their President. Just before the game begins, the man seen scouting the stadium is revealed to be a commercial pilot, who tells his co-pilot that he is "responsible for everything that happens from now on." His plane is seen very close to the ground and the stadium, and is noticed by the audience (including Mandela's Security). Security thinks he is tring to kill Nelson Mandella. The jet then flies over the stadium and gets the crowd cheering with a message printed on the bottom of the jet: "Good luck, Bokke!" Roared on by a large home crowd of both whites and non-whites, Pienaar motivates his team to overcome their doubts and push themselves to the limit. After ending in a tie, the game goes into extra time, where the Springboks win on a long drop kick from fly-half Joel Stransky (Scott Eastwood) and a score of 15-12. Mandela and Pienaar meet on the field together to celebrate the improbable victory. One reporter asks Pienaar if the 63,000 fans, referring only to the stadium attendance, helped win the game by their continuous support and Pienaar replies that it was really 43 million fans who helped them win the game, referring to South Africa as a whole. Once there, Mandela thanks Pienaar for his service to the nation, but Pienaar insists that the President deserves the real thanks. In one particular scene, some white police officers celebrate by hoisting a young black boy, who had been lingering near their vehicle to listen to the radio broadcast of the game, onto their shoulders. Mandela's car is then seen driving away in the traffic-jammed streets leaving the stadium, and the film ends with Mandela reciting the last stanza of the 19th century poem for which the film is named, "Invictus", as he watches white and non white South Africans celebrating together and feels a sense of the country's collective accomplishment.