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Catholic movie review - Invictus |
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By John Mulderig - Catholic News Service
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Thursday, 10 December 2009 |
"Forgiveness liberates the soul." So says South African President Nelson Mandela, as adeptly impersonated by Morgan Freeman, in the uplifting sports drama "Invictus" (Warner Bros.).
Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon star in a scene from the movie "Invictus." - CNS photo/Warner Bros.
Director Clint Eastwood's account, based on actual events and adapted from John Carlin's book "Playing the Enemy," effectively chronicles how Mandela transformed the race for a rugby championship into an opportunity to put that philosophy into widespread practice.
The initial situation, as detailed in the opening scenes, was hardly
promising. With racial divides still deep, despite the recent downfall
of apartheid, Mandela -- fresh from his swift elevation from imprisoned
dissident to chief executive -- confronted a host of problems,
including a rising crime rate and the lack of foreign investment in a
state that had been an international pariah for decades.
Instinctively recognizing that interracial reconciliation must be his
primary goal, however, Mandela settled on an unlikely means of
achieving it, launching a campaign to unite his country behind the
national rugby team as it competed in the 1995 World Cup competition,
which South Africa hosted.
Despite the fact that the Springboks, as the team is known, though
cherished by the white Afrikaner community, were widely hated by the
soccer-playing black majority as the embodiment of pale privilege under
the old regime, and undaunted by the crew's dismal record in the
lead-up to the international meet, Mandela enlisted the help of their
captain, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to accomplish his long-shot
goal.
As recounted by South African-born screenwriter Anthony Peckham, the
two leaders' partnership sees Francois touched and changed by Mandela's
forbearance as well as by the plight of black children in the
impoverished townships to which Mandela dispatched Pienaar's squad in
an effort to widen their game's popularity.
William Ernest Henley's Victorian-era poem, which Mandela cites as
having strengthened him in prison, and from which the film takes its
title, is at best spiritually ambivalent, since the poet thanks
"whatever gods may be" for his "unconquerable soul." But the script's
themes of generosity, openness and human solidarity are enhanced by
religious references to the South African national anthem, "God Bless
Africa," and by the prayer of thanksgiving offered, at a climactic
moment, by the lone black player among the Springboks.
The moral and artistic merits of this inspiring tale, together with its
salutary message, counterbalance the elements listed below, making it
probably acceptable for mature teens.
The film contains brief scenes of violence, at least one use of the
F-word, a few instances of crude and crass language and some mild
sexual references. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting
classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of
America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material
may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available
online at www.usccb.org/movies.
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