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I have not seen this film. I'm mildly interested in seeing it. Actually, the main reason I brought it up is that it was only a few months before the film came out, when I was watching The Bucket List on cable (don't ask me why), that I thought to myself the older Morgan Freeman gets, the more he looks like Nelson Mandela, and that it's only a matter of time before he portrays him on film. Then, voila, a few months later, Invictus.

Seriously, though, has anyone here seen it and is it any good?

Invictus is the story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup which was held in South Africa. Against tremendous odds, the underdog Springbok team took on and beat all comers, including the All Black team from New Zealand. It is also the story of Mandela's attempt to try and unite bitter white South Africans with their fellow South Africans and they were united after that game for one day, at least. Mandela  appeared on the Ellis Park field dressed in a rugby jersey and the crowd and nation went beserk. When the winner's trophy was handed over to Francois Pienaar, people were screaming, crying and hugging each other all over South Africa and for a few minutes in SA's turbulent history, we were one as a nation.

I will never forget that day ~ nor will I, even though I hate rugby, forget the giant aeroplane flying low over Ellis Park. My first reaction was "WTF does this guy think he;s doing?" only to see the words GOOD LUCK BOKKE under its' wings. The entire stadium which seats nearly 50 000 people was vibrating and people were stunned. I remember an injured James Small dragging himself off the playing area but refusing to leave for medical attention until the game was over, I remember Joel Stransky's drop goal which sealed the game in extra time for the Boks and I remember seeing the people going berserk (but in a nice way) after the match. :teddyr:

Unfortunately, Clint Eastwood allowed many inaccuracies to slip into the film, such as having a person of colour portray Mandela's PA, Zelda LeGrange while Ms LeGrange is a white Afrikaans lady. Also, the book that this film is based on infers that Mandela's appearance at the game was nothing less than a publicity stunt. I hope not.