Thread: Invictus

Invictus is the best movie I have seen all year and perhaps the decade. The performances are powerful. The role of Mandela can only be played this well by Morgan Freeman and any actor to come after will have his hands full. Of course Matt Damon is no hack himself. Indeed he gets so lost in his role that you may very well forget you are NOT watching an actual rugby match.

Being one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century none has to be made up to make Mandelas life interesting. And it holds true for this excellent piece about the Springbok's performance in the 1995 Rugby world cup. Occasionally there comes a rare time when history and sports history collide, and such is this case. While many wanted to scratch the Sprinbok team from the world of sports to punish the Africaneers Mandela seizes a moment in time and rallies the nation to support the Springbok knowing full well that the dismantling of the nations team would mean certain failure and first round elimination for South Africa in the World Cup.

The rest of the movie from that point onward is the burden placed on the teams shoulders to win a tournament that will make a country in turmoil jump to its feet. The credits peppered with actual footage of the world cup are a sobering reminder that the greatest stories are indeed the true ones.