Invictus (PG). Running time: 133 minutes. Director: Clint Eastwood. Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon
As a film director Clint Eastwood is capable of bringing a light touch to worthy subjects. That was evident in last year's Gran Torino, where the redemptive arc of a seemingly irredeemable racist, Korean War veteran Walt (played by Eastwood), was imparted for the most part with warmth and copious humour.
In Invictus Eastwood again turns with a light tough to race relations, this time in post-Apartheid South Africa. The film recounts the South African Springboks' historic 1995 Rugby World Cup run, as well as then-fledgling president Nelson Mandela's role in rallying the team to victory. It is part biopic, part sports film, part feelgood drama. It really succeeds on only one of these fronts.
The film recreates the early days of Mandela's (Freeman) presidency. He arrives at work to find that the white members of government staff are convinced that his first point of order will be to dismiss them. He puts their minds at ease by offering the staff an introductory pep talk, the gist of which is that reconciliation in South Africa is going to begin among his own staff.
To underscore his point, he assigns four white men to join four black men as his personal bodyguards. A subplot in Invictus follows the gradual growth of trust and even camaraderie between these eight men. This is an enjoyable, if heavy-handedly symbolic, portrayal of reconciliation found through shared endeavour and dialogue.
Mandela decides rugby is key to his vision of reconciliation. The Springboks are beloved of white South Africans, but despised by black South Africans. Rather than slight the onetime oppressors by disbanding the team, Mandela puts the onus of forgiveness on the formerly oppressed: break the cycle of hatred by embracing 'their' team as 'ours'.
He then sets a simple challenge to the struggling Springboks' put-upon captain, Francois Pienaar (Damon): Inspire your people by winning the World Cup.
The film traces the Springboks' campaign, and Mandela's growing enthusiasm for the sport. What starts out as a political calculation becomes also a hobby for the president. Pienaar, meanwhile, grows to overcome his doubts and to appreciate the importance of the campaign, not just for sport's sake, but as part of the healing of his wounded nation.
Invictus is less interested in Mandela's political nous, than in the personal interactions between him and members of his staff. We hear little of