| Movie DescriptionAfter decades in a Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is released in 1990 and works immediately to bring about the end of apartheid and the initiation of full democratic elections; in such an election, the black majority population can vote. Mandela wins the race for President of South Africa and takes office in 1994. His immediate challenge is "balancing black aspirations with white fears." Racial tensions from the apartheid era have not completely disappeared. This is seen, in part, through Mandela's security team, which consists of both new black and old white officials, who are immediately hostile to each other despite sharing the same job and goal. Nevertheless, one of the white officials remarks later on that he prefers Mandela to F.W. de Klerk, his old boss.
While Mandela attempts to tackle the country's largest problems—including crime and unemployment—he attends a game of the Springboks, the country's rugby union team. Mandela observes that non-whites in the stadium cheer against their home squad, as the Springboks (their history, players, and even their colours) represent prejudice and apartheid in their minds, and remarks that he used to do the same thing on Robben Island. Knowing that South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in one year's time, Mandela convinces a meeting of the newly-black-dominated South African Sports Committee not to change the Springboks' name and colours. He then arranges a meeting with the captain of the Springboks rugby team, François Pienaar (Matt Damon). Though Mandela does not verbalize his true meaning during their meeting, Pienaar understands the message below the surface: if the Springboks can gain the support of non-white South Africans and succeed in the upcoming World Cup, the country will be unified and inspired. Mandela also shares with Pienaar that a poem, "Invictus", had been inspiring to him during his time in prison, helping him to "stand when all he wanted to do was lie down".
Pienaar and his teammates train, but the players (all but one are white) voice disapproval that they are to be envoys to the poor and public, fearing exhaustion from overwork. Mandela, too, hears disapproval from friends and family. Many more, both white and non-white citizens and politicians, began to express doubts on using sport to unite a nation torn apart by some 50 years of racial tensions. For many non-whites, especially the radicals, the Springboks symbolised white supremacy and they did not want to support their national team. However, both Mandela and Pienaar stand firmly behind their theory that the game can be used to successfully unite the country. As the tournament approaches, Mandela collapses from exhaustion and the Springboks' only non-white player, Chester Williams, is sidelined with a pulled hamstring. |
