INVICTUS
4 out of 5 stars

“i am the master of my fate – i am the captain of my soul.”
– nelson mandela
(reciting the poem invictus by william ernest henley)



with the world cup going on in south africa right now, i thought this would be a great choice to view, and boy, was i right! ;)


slow-paced but invigorating in the end! a true depiction of how one of the greatest foreign leaders took a torn nation and bonded it through sport... nelson mandela (portrayed spot-on by morgan freeman) is newly elected, and wants to find a way to convince his people to stop hating one another, and to forgive each other for past wrongs. the racial tensions in south africa are on the brink of civil war, but mandela knows with the world cup for rugby a year away, he can bring change and hopefully, reconciliation to his country. the tension is sooooo strong that even his own security is having issues, as mandela wants the whites and the "natives" to work together, even in his own cabinet.  matt damon plays francois pienaar, the captain of the south african team, who turns a losing streak into championship gold in this movie about winning for your country and ultimately having the support of 43 million south africans rooting for you in the very end... (cue tears of nationalism!) 


acting is superb especially the scenes with the president and the rugby captain. like i said, it’s slow-paced, but i think a part of that has to do with the way clint eastwood likes to direct? idk... it doesn’t matter since the end is the polar opposite, and the emotions of the final game just grab ahold of you... good movie that’ll remain in our hearts forever, and it makes you realize what a godsend nelson mandela was to his people... :)