Invictus (film)
{{Short description|2009 biographical sports drama film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Invictus
| image = Invictus-poster.png
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Clint Eastwood
| producer = {{plainlist|
- Clint Eastwood
- Lori McCreary
- Robert Lorenz
- Mace Neufeld
}}
| screenplay = Anthony Peckham
| based_on = {{Based on|Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation
2008 book|John Carlin}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
}}
| cinematography = Tom Stern
| editing = {{plainlist|
}}
| music = {{plainlist|
}}
| studio = {{plainlist|
- Revelations Entertainment{{cite web|title=Invictus (2009)|work=British Film Institute|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8da4af60|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508002728/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8da4af60|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 May 2017}}
- Mace Neufeld Productions
- Malpaso Productions
- Liberty Pictures{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55791-INVICTUS|title=Invictus|work=American Film Institute|access-date=February 17, 2024}}
}}
| distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide)
Times Media Films (now Empire Entertainment, South Africa){{cite web | url=https://content.numetro.co.za/basic_movie_info.php?movieid=0895 | title=Invictus }}
| released = {{Film date|2009|12|11|df=y}}
| country = {{plainlist|
}}
| budget = $50–60 million{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=eastwood09.htm|title=Invictus|work=Box Office Mojo|access-date=February 13, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/06/my-entry.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614222054/http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/06/my-entry.html|title=Produced By Conference: Are Boomers Abandoning Movies?|last=Thompson|first=Anne|work=Variety|date=June 10, 2009|archive-date=June 14, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2015}}
}}
Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, making it the third collaboration between Eastwood and Freeman after Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). The story is based on the 2008 John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The Springboks were not expected to perform well, the team having only recently returned to high-level international competition following the dismantling of apartheid—the country was hosting the World Cup, thus earning an automatic entry. Freeman portrays South African President Nelson Mandela while Damon played Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, the South Africa rugby union team.{{cite web
|url = http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/14/first-look-clint-eastwoods-the-human-factor-with-matt-damon/
|title = First Look: Clint Eastwood's The Human Factor with Matt Damon
|last = Stephensen
|first = Hunter
|date = March 14, 2009
|publisher = Slash Film
|access-date = March 31, 2009
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120604171602/http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/14/first-look-clint-eastwoods-the-human-factor-with-matt-damon/
|archive-date = 2012-06-04
|url-status = dead
}}
Invictus was released in the United States on 11 December 2009. The title refers to the Roman divine epithet Invictus and may be translated from the Latin as "undefeated" or "unconquered". "Invictus" is also the title of a poem, referred to in the film, by British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). The film was met with positive critical reviews and earned Academy Award nominations for Freeman (Best Actor) and Damon (Best Supporting Actor). The film grossed $122.2 million on a budget of $50–60 million.
Plot
On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison after having spent 27 years in captivity.{{Citation|title=Archive: Nelson Mandela's 'walk to freedom' in 1990 after his release from prison|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nelson-mandela/9958896/Archive-Nelson-Mandelas-walk-to-freedom-in-1990-after-his-release-from-prison.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206165043/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nelson-mandela/9958896/Archive-Nelson-Mandelas-walk-to-freedom-in-1990-after-his-release-from-prison.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-12-06|language=en|access-date=2017-06-20}} Four years later, Mandela is elected the first black President of South Africa. His presidency faces enormous challenges in the post-Apartheid era, including rampant poverty and crime, and Mandela is particularly concerned about racial divisions between black and white South Africans, which would lead to violence. The ill will which both groups hold towards each other is seen even in his own security detail where relations between the established white officers, who had guarded Mandela's predecessors, and the black ANC additions to the security detail, are frosty and marked by mutual distrust.
While attending a rugby union match between South Africa and England, Mandela notices that some black South Africans are supporting England rather than the mostly-white Springboks due to the legacy of apartheid; he remarks that he did the same while imprisoned on Robben Island. Knowing that South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in one year's time, Mandela persuades a meeting of the newly black-dominated South African Sports Committee to support the Springboks. He then meets with the captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar, and implies that a victory for South Africa in the World Cup will unite and inspire the nation. Mandela also recites to Pienaar William Ernest Henley's poem "Invictus" that inspired him during his time in prison.
Pienaar and his teammates train. Many South Africans, both black and white, doubt that rugby will unite a nation torn apart by nearly fifty years of apartheid, especially considering the image of the Springboks to many in the black community. Both Mandela and Pienaar, however, stand firmly that the game can successfully unite South Africans. Things begin to change as the players interact with the fans and begin a friendship with them. During the opening games, support for the Springboks begins to grow among the black population. By the second game, the whole country comes together to support the Springboks and Mandela's efforts. Mandela's security team also grows closer as the racially diverse officers come to respect their comrades' professionalism and dedication.
As Mandela watches, the Springboks defeat their arch-rival and the defending champions Australia in their opening match. They then continue to defy all expectations and, as Mandela conducts trade negotiations in Taiwan, defeat France in heavy rain to advance to the final against their other rival New Zealand. New Zealand and South Africa were universally regarded as the two greatest rugby nations, with South Africa then the only side to have a winning record against New Zealand since their first meeting in 1921. Meanwhile, one day during the tournament, the Springboks visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent the first eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison. There, Pienaar is inspired by Mandela's will and his idea of self-mastery in "Invictus". Pienaar mentions his amazement that Mandela "could spend thirty years in a tiny cell and come out ready to forgive the people who put him there".
Supported by a large home crowd of all races at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, Pienaar motivates his teammates for the final. Mandela's security detail receives a scare when, just before the match, a South African Airways Boeing 747-200 jetliner flies in low over the stadium. However, it is not an assassination attempt, but a demonstration of patriotism with the message "Good Luck, Bokke" painted on the undersides of the plane's wings. Mandela also arrives onto the field before the match wearing a Springbok cap and a replica of Pienaar's #6 jersey. The Springboks complete their run by beating New Zealand 15–12 in extra time, thanks to a drop goal from fly-half Joel Stransky, to become the world champion. Mandela and Pienaar meet on the field together to celebrate the victory, and Mandela hands Pienaar the Webb Ellis Cup. Mandela's car then drives away in the traffic-jammed streets leaving the stadium. He insists that there is no hurry as his security team wanted to change the route due to the cheering crowd. As Mandela watches South Africans celebrating together in the street from his car, his voice is heard reciting "Invictus" again.
Cast
{{div col}}
- Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, the head of the African National Congress, who has become the first black President of South Africa
- Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the Springboks' captain and openside flanker
- Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala
- Adjoa Andoh as Brenda Mazibuko
- Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne FeyderTurner, Rob (March 22, 2009). [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/03/22/life-on-the-set-with-clint-eastwood-by-welsh-actor-91466-23201827 "Life on the set with Clint Eastwood, by Welsh actor"]. Wales on Sunday. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
- Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy
- Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens
- Marguerite Wheatley as Nerine Winter, Pienaar's wife
- Patrick Lyster as Francois Pienaar's father
- Leleti Khumalo as Mary
- McNeil Hendricks as Chester Williams, the Springboks' left wing and the only black player on the team
- Scott Eastwood as Joel Stransky, the Springboks' fly half and goal kicker
- Zak Feaunati as Jonah Lomu, the All Blacks' left wing, considered the best player in the world in 1995
- Grant L. Roberts as Ruben Kruger, the Springboks' blindside flanker
- Rolf E. Fitschen as Naka Drotské, the Springboks' reserve hooker
- Vaughn Thompson as Rudolf Straeuli, the Springboks' reserve flanker
- Robin B. Smith as Johan de Villiers, sport commentator
- Charl Engelbrecht as Garry Pagel, the Springboks' reserve prop
- Graham Lindemann as Kobus Wiese, the Springboks' number 4 lock
- Louis Minnaar as Springbok coach
- Sean Cameron Michael as Springbok equipment manager
- Danny Keogh as Louis Luyt
- Bonnie Henna as Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane
- Kgosi Mongake as Sipho
- David Dukas as the pilot of the Boeing 747 who flew low over Ellis Park Stadium just prior to the appearance of Mandela on the field before the game started
- Hennie Bosman as a racist rugby coach
{{div col end}}
Production
The film is based on the book Playing the Enemy: Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation by John Carlin.{{cite news
|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25187212-5006010,00.html
|title=François Pienaar takes rugby union to Hollywood. Somanth as François Pienaar' brother
|last=Leyes
|first=Nick|date=March 15, 2009
|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|access-date=March 31, 2009}} The filmmakers met with Carlin for a week in his Barcelona home, discussing how to transform the book into a screenplay.Interview with Carlin, BBC Radio 5, May 21, 2009 Filming began in March 2009 in Cape Town. Primary filming in South Africa was completed in May 2009.
Morgan Freeman was the first actor to be cast, as Mandela. Matt Damon was then cast as team captain Francois Pienaar, despite being significantly smaller than him{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/media/rm661032448/nm3565879 |title=Photo showing Freeman and Damon at premiere |publisher=IMDB.com |access-date=May 30, 2011 }} and much smaller than members of the current Springbok squad.{{cite web |url=http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/images/thumbnails/matt-damon-3119-3.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723041915/http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/images/thumbnails/matt-damon-3119-3.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |title=Photo |publisher=celebrity-gossip.net |access-date=December 19, 2010 }}
He was given intensive coaching by Chester Williams, another star of the 1995 team, at the Gardens Rugby League Club.{{cite web
|url=http://www.cinematical.com/2009/03/16/matt-damon-goes-blond-for-the-human-factor/
|title=Matt Damon Goes Blond For 'The Human Factor'
|last=Rappe
|first=Elisabeth
|date=March 16, 2009
|publisher=Cinematical.com
|access-date=March 31, 2009}} "In terms of stature and stars, this certainly is one of the biggest films ever to be made in South Africa," said Laurence Mitchell, the head of the Cape Film Commission.{{dead link|date=May 2012}}{{cite news
|url=http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=954297
|title=Matt Damon injured at rugby union training
|date=March 8, 2009
|newspaper=The Times (South Africa)
|access-date=March 31, 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411194212/http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=954297
|archive-date=April 11, 2009
|url-status=dead
}} On 18 March 2009, Scott Eastwood was cast as flyhalf Joel Stransky (whose drop goal provided the Springboks' winning margin in the 1995 final).{{cite web
|url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/scott-eastwood-joins-the-nelson-mandela-pic
|title=Scott Eastwood joins the Mandela pic: Clint casts his son ...
|last=White
|first=James
|date=March 18, 2009
|publisher=TotalFilm.com|access-date=March 31, 2009}}
Over Christmas 2008, auditions had taken place in London to try to find a well-known British actor to play Pienaar's father, but in March it was decided to cast a lesser-known South African actor instead.{{cite news
|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/pandora-an-accent-beyond--the-best-of-british-1645743.html
|title=Pandora: An accent beyond the best of British
|last=Jones
|first=Alice-Azania
|date=March 16, 2009
|newspaper=The Independent
|access-date=March 31, 2009}}
Zak Fe'aunati, who had previously played professionally for Bath, was cast as Jonah Lomu,(March 25, 2009). [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_league/article5977315.ece Zak Feaunati to play Jonah Lomu in film]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, BBC News. Retrieved on May 6, 2009. while Grant L. Roberts was cast as Ruben Kruger, who was the Springboks' other starting flanker in 1995. Chester Williams was also involved with the project to teach rugby to those of the cast playing players who had not played it before, while Freeman and Williams also became involved with the ESPN 30 For 30 film The 16th Man. Filming of the final also took place on location at Ellis Park Stadium, the actual venue for the 1995 final.
Release
=Home media=
The film was released on 18 May 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Special features include
- Matt Damon Plays Rugby
- Invictus music trailer
The Blu-ray release included a digital copy and additional special features:
- Vision, Courage and Honor: Diplo and the Power of a True Story
- Mandela Meets Morgan
- The SmoothieWolf Factor documentary excerpts
- Picture-in-Picture exploration with cast, crew and the real people who lived this true story
Reception
The film was met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 76% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 246 reviews, with an average score of 6.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Delivered with typically stately precision from director Clint Eastwood, Invictus may not be rousing enough for some viewers, but Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman inhabit their real-life characters with admirable conviction."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/invictus/ |title=Invictus (2009) |publisher=Fandango Media|work=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=March 20, 2018}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/invictus |title=Invictus Reviews |work=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=March 20, 2018}}
Critic David Ansen wrote:{{cite web| title='Invictus': A Whole New Ballgame | url= http://www.newsweek.com/id/224352 | publisher=Newsweek | author= David Ansen | author-link= David Ansen | date=November 25, 2009| access-date=December 7, 2009}}
Anthony Peckham's sturdy, functional screenplay, based on John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy, can be a bit on the nose (and the message songs Eastwood adds are overkill). Yet the lapses fade in the face of such a soul-stirring story—one that would be hard to believe if it were fiction. The wonder of Invictus is that it actually went down this way.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half stars{{cite web | title=Invictus | url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20091209%2FREVIEWS%2F912099994 | publisher=Chicago Sun-Times | author=Roger Ebert | date=December 9, 2009 | access-date=December 13, 2009 | archive-date=28 September 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928032745/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20091209%2FREVIEWS%2F912099994 | url-status=dead }} and wrote:
It is a very good film. It has moments evoking great emotion, as when the black and white members of the presidential security detail (hard-line ANC activists and Afrikaner cops) agree with excruciating difficulty to serve together. And when Damon's character—François Pienaar, as the team captain—is shown the cell where Mandela was held for those long years on Robben Island. My wife, Chaz, and I were taken to the island early one morning by Ahmed Kathrada, one of Mandela's fellow prisoners, and yes, the movie shows his very cell, with the thin blankets on the floor. You regard that cell and you think, here a great man waited in faith for his rendezvous with history.
Shave Magazine{{'}}s Jake Tomlinson wrote:{{cite web | title=Review: Invictus | url=http://www.shavemagazine.com/entertainment/reviews/091201 | publisher=Shave | author=Jake Tomlinson | date=December 10, 2009 | access-date=December 23, 2009 | archive-date=16 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716053523/http://www.shavemagazine.com/entertainment/reviews/091201 | url-status=dead }}
Eastwood's film shows how sport can unify people, a straightforward and moving message that leaves audiences cheering. The sports, accurate portrayal and the solid storyline earn this movie a manliness rating of 3/5. However, the entertainment value, historical accuracy and strong message this movie delivers earn it an overall rating of 4.5 stars. Definitely, worth seeing.
Variety's Todd McCarthy wrote:{{cite web| title=Invictus | url= https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941681.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 | publisher=Variety | author= Todd McCarthy | date=November 27, 2009| access-date=December 9, 2009}}
Inspirational on the face of it, Clint Eastwood's film has a predictable trajectory, but every scene brims with surprising details that accumulate into a rich fabric of history, cultural impressions and emotion.
=Awards and honors=
{{Reflist|group=notes}}
Soundtrack
- "9000 days" – Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie
- "Invictus Theme" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "Colorblind" – Overtone
- "Siyalinda" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "World in Union 95" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
- "Madiba's theme" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "Hamba Nathi" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
- "Thanda" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "Shosholoza" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
- "Inkathi" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "Ole Ole Ole—We Are The Champions" – Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie
- "Enqena (Anxious)" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- The South African National Anthem – Overtone
- "Ukunqoba (To Conquer)" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "Victory" – Soweto String Quartet
- "Xolela (Forgiveness)" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
- "The Crossing (Osiyeza)" – Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie
- "9,000 days (acoustic)" – Emile Welman
See also
{{Portal|South Africa}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{IMDb title|1057500|Invictus}}
- {{TCMDb title|id=773769}}
- {{AFI film|55791}}
- {{Mojo title|eastwood09|Invictus}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|invictus|Invictus}}
{{Nelson Mandela}}
{{Clint Eastwood}}
{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Movie for Grownups}}
{{South Africa national rugby union team}}
{{New Zealand national rugby union team}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Invictus}}
Category:2009 biographical drama films
Category:English-language South African films
Category:Films directed by Clint Eastwood
Category:Films produced by Clint Eastwood
Category:Films produced by Robert Lorenz
Category:Films produced by Mace Neufeld
Category:Films set in South Africa
Category:Films shot in South Africa
Category:Malpaso Productions films
Category:Films about Nelson Mandela
Category:Cultural depictions of Nelson Mandela
Category:Cultural depictions of South African people
Category:Cultural depictions of rugby footballers
Category:Revelations Entertainment films
Category:History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa
Category:Sports films based on actual events
Category:Spyglass Entertainment films
Category:American biographical drama films
Category:South African biographical drama films
Category:Afrikaans-language films
Category:Rugby union and apartheid
Category:New Zealand at the 1995 Rugby World Cup
Category:South Africa at the 1995 Rugby World Cup