Invictus

Loved the movie, hate myself for being so ignorant about the world around me. I mean, I knew Nelson Mandela was in jail for 27 years. I knew he got out. I knew he eventually went on to be the president. And quite frankly that's where my "knowing" ends. Not that the movie was 100% historical truth, but I didn't know what, if any, impact Mandela had on his country. I didn't know if people (blacks, whites and everyone in between) loved him or hated him. I didn't know what the hell rugby was. Quite frankly I still don't. Like football and soccer combined or something.

The movie is wonderful. Matt Damon is great in it. You expect Morgan Freeman to be great. He's Morgan Freeman. But Matt Damon wouldn't be shooting guns and disarming bombs while evading the authorities, so I was worried. His character was humble, and he came across as humble playing him. We get a great look at what South Africa was like just after Mandela's election. Simply put, blacks were proud and loved him, the whites thought he was going to ruin the country. I'm sure he brought the country together in more ways that through rugby, but in Invictus, we see that he got the entire country of South Africa behind the rugby team during a time when the blacks hated them, based solely on principal. He mandated that the team go, during their busiest training season, to every village in South Africa and train with the youth. They endeared themselves to their people, their people stood behind them, and they won the World Cup. I'm simplifying it, but while it probably took years of training and endurance and blood and sweat and tears; it seemed simple. Get the country to stand together for one united rugby team, and they will learn to work and live together. It's beautifully shown when a small black boy, who travels (it seems alone) to the World Cup with no ticket. You almost get suspicious because he's loitering around a car full of cops fidgeting in his bag. Does he have a gun? Why would he have a gun? He's so tiny! Turns out he just wanted to hear their radio and listen to the match. He slowly works his way over closer to the car, sits on the hood, is seen drinking a soft drink, and when South Africa wins the policemen hoist the boy up on their shoulders and cheer. In a couple of hours they went from shooing the boy away from them, to cheering with him for the rugby team. It was really remarkable.

I highly recommend it!