Play To the Whistle Blogathon – Invictus (2009)

This is my second of two reviews for the Play to the Whistle Blogathon being held by Kira of Film and TV 101 and Josh of Reffing Movies.

Tnx guys for letting me take part!

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“If I cannot change when circumstances demand it, how can I expect others to? ” – Nelson Mandela

Number of Times Seen – 2 (24 Dec 2009 and 23 May 2017)

Brief Synopsis – True story of how the newly elected President of South Africa tried to unite his country through the use of the Rugby World Cup.

My Take on it – I have never been a fan of the sport of RUgby and really have no idea how the game is played.

I loved the way tho that this film was able to show how the use of sport can help affect people with differing views and opinions and try and unite them.

We all know in general how much of a grand figure Nelson Mandela was but to watch how this story unfolds shows how his vision of a unified South Africa which went against the mainstream thinking at the time  was able to be spring boarded by the National Pride of sport.

Morgan Freeman  and Matt Damon are both great here as the tow most influential people of the story and they both show their character’s convictions quite well.

The accents used by them (mostly Damon) seem a bit too much and started getting annoying part of the way through.

I’m aware of the fact that this is a film about sport, yet they show the game of Rugby a bit too much without finding a way to give those unfamiliar with sport a bit of a tutorial along the way.

Clint Eastwood once again shows with this movie that he will foreve be remembered as a great Director before actor.

He was able to put all the pieces together here in such a way that it looks and feels so great to wtach.

The story, cienamtograpy, character’s and of course music all work so well together that these elements make the film even more enjoyable to watch.

I especially love the two main theme songs used for this film: Colorblind and 9,000 Days.

Listen to them here:

Bottom Line – This story shows how sport can be used in more ways than just to have fun. The ideas shown here by Mandela are quite amazing to watch because we can see how much opposition he received while on his quest to unifying his country.  Freeman and Damon are both great here, but the accents were a bit off kilting to listen to.  They showed a bit too much of the games played which was a bit disconcerting since I don’t quite understand the rules of the game of Rugby.  Another Eastwood directorial masterpiece that puts all the pieces together quite well. Great story, cinematography, characters and most of all music make this even more enjoyable to watch.  Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Nelson Mandela’s personal assistant, Zelda La Grange, apparently asked Morgan Freeman to stop walking like Mandela, so that she could tell the difference between the two. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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