Unity Through Sport

Sports movies tend to be one of two things: either really good (The Natural, Hoosiers, Remember the Titans) or really bad (Fever Pitch, Blue Chips, For the Love of the Game). You know that sports movies are supposed to inspire you, make you believe that great things can happen through a sport, and that the good guys win in the end. Now add to those elements some political intrigue, racial segregation, and the fact that it really happened in South Africa and you have the Clint Eastwood-directed Invictus.

After Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is released from his 27-year prison term in 1990, change begins to grip South Africa. By the time he is elected president in 1994, the country is a year away from hosting the Rugby World Cup. Realizing how big this could be for the country’s unity and future, Mandela has a heart-to-heart talk with South African Springboks team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon). If this underachieving team of underdogs can actually come together and shock the world, maybe this “rainbow nation” will come together and support them. The odds are long and a lot of South Africans have openly rooted against the Springboks all their lives, but Mandela and Pienaar believe that something special can happen.

I read somewhere that it was only a matter of time before Freeman portrayed Mandela in a film. After all, the great actor has always played wise characters or men with great dignity as seen in Driving Miss Daisy, Unforgiven, and especially in The Shawshank Redemption. He steps right into Mandela’s shoes and captures the spirit of a man who has survived almost three decades of imprisonment yet emerged stronger, smarter, but with forgiveness in his heart. Damon may indeed be a lot shorter than the real life Pienaar, but he gives a very credible performance as the team captain who’s trying to lead his team to victory while also trying to inspire a divided nation. Even in his own home, though his Afrikaan wife and parents support him, they’re wary of Mandela. That’s in stark contrast with their household help who loves the new president.

For me, the performances of Tony Kgoroge as Mandela’s head of security Jason Tshabalala, and the trio of Patrick Mofokeng, Julian Lewis Jones, and Matt Stern as the racially mixed security detail surrounding the president. Their interactions with one another, ranging from distrust to discomfort, mild amusement, and eventually winning together served as great contrast to the main storylines of the World Cup and Mandela’s struggle.

Eastwood manages to bring all these elements together in a two-hour long sports movie that has some very moving scenes in it. I particularly found the scene where the whole Springbok team goes to where Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island and Pienaar examines where the man was incarcerated for 27 years to be very powerful. As a sports film, you know this is leading up to a happy ending. But when that inevitable ending finally does happen and the whole nation erupts in celebration, I’ll admit that I still had chills down my spine. For only in sport can moments like these happen, where people come together to cheer for a specific person or team. Whether it be Manny Pacquiao or the Ateneo Blue Eagles, sports can unify people in ways that very few others can.

At the end of Invictus, that’s what really gave me chills. For when the Springboks won the World Cup and Pres. Mandela hands Pienaar the Web Ellis Trophy, you could feel the entire South Africa cheering them to the upset win over the heavily favored All Blacks. People who hated the Springboks or never even cared about rugby were all watching on television as their team won for their country. Now that’s what you call a Hollywood ending.