'Invictus': The last king of South Africa

In an Oscar-nominated performance, Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela in the early years of his presidency, as he takes the South African rugby team as his pet peace project



You never know what project Clint Eastwood is going to take next and turn it into his personal extravaganza. In a string of recent movies (Gran Torino, Changeling), Eastwood has given us everything from big dramas reminiscent of old Hollywood movies to modest peeks into contemporary social problems.

In Invictus, he takes a true story involving Nelson Mandela and the South African rugby team, and gives us quite an unusual biopic of one of the greatest men in modern history. Invictus is more close to The Last King of Scotland with Idi Amin seen through the eyes of his Scottish physician than a grand biopic like Gandhi.

Morgan Freeman plays Mandela, a name that was linked to playing the South African leader in Hollywood for years even though there wasn’t any movie project on Mandela. It’s the early 1990s, and Mandela becomes the president of the apartheid-torn South Africa in its first free election. There’s justified and deeply rooted hatred between the white and the black. So when Mandela begins his presidency, he also inherits a big baggage.


Sports without borders

From the early days of his job, Mandela sees a great opportunity in using the national rugby team, the Springboks for his peace project. A symbol of hatred against white South Africans, the team with the token black rugby player becomes Mandela’s pet project. He cozies up to the team captain Francois Pienaar (a beefed-up Matt Damon), transforming him into a believer for his project.

At a time when the Springboks are one of the major symbols of social disruption in South Africa, Mandela tries his best to transform national rugby team into a symbol of collective action, of unity. The film tells the period from the very first day of Mandela’s presidency until the legendary World Cup final match with New Zealand in 1995.

In an Oscar-nominated performance, Morgan Freeman becomes the perfect Nelson Mandela, bringing a modest charm and grandeur worthy of true world leaders. Once you’re past the blonde hair and the bulked body, Matt Damon is also perfect in capturing the transformation of the rugby captain in another Oscar-nominated performance. Invictus is inspirational, moving and fun, and all at the same time.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 26 Feb. 10