Invictus

Honestly, I do not know much about South Africa's apartheid nor Nelson Mandela. I do know that when Morgan Freeman is in a movie, it is rare for that movie not to be good. That tradition is upheld in Invictus. This is most definitely his movie and also part of Nelson Mandela's legacy. When Clint Eastwood directs Morgan, it is a potentially award-winning combination as was shown in the previous Million Dollar Baby (where Morgan's role is not nearly big enough but I digress). The movie shows how President Mandela showed a divided country how to unite, in this instance it is due to a sports team. I know there are some non-sports fans out there that think we are entirely too centered on sports but like it or not, sports is a good microcosm of society where there are battles (games) to be won, strategy (game plan) to be utilized and all because of people working together for the good of the country (team). I do not know anything about how Rugby is played but the fact that the South African national team vying to win a world cup (championship) is green and gold makes this die hard Packers fan proud! There are a lot of good lines of dialogue that are as appropriate in 1995 South Africa as they are in 2010 America. Ironically, both are being led by African-American presidents. More people need to see Invictus to help to realize that we are all in this life together no matter what our race, religion, sexual orientation nor anything else and to be divided is to be conquerable. I highly recommend this movie with two thumbs up reading a copy of the William Ernest Henley's poem titled Invictus.