Listowel Community College

Invictus Movie Review

Invictus is the short version of John Carlin’s book “Playing the enemy: Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation”. Mandela was imprisoned until 1990 in South Africa. To my shock he then became the president of the country. He had to preside over an uneasily united nation. He mainly focused on Rugby as for some unknown reason he thought it would bring the people of South Africa closer together, and he insured the national team Springboks, (the national team) which was hated my most coloured and black South Africans would do well in the African hosted world cup. When the team meets Mandela their luck amazingly turns around. However, it is not all about rugby, scrums and tackles it also has a big history background.

The story moves along as Mandela’s long time security guards and newly assigned white co-workers, which not along ago were fighting against each other for the racial problems between all the different types of nationalities and skin colours in “The Rainbow Land” of South Africa. As time goes by the relationship between the men evolves and they start to bond and get on especially well during the championship match.

Men who had previously hated each other ended up side by side for the same reason, to watch the home team win.

This movie shows how small insignificant interests can unite people, Nelson Mandela had a will o change the world and he succeeded!

I found the movie to be very predictable, and the only thing that kept me awake was the rugby team’s shouting and screaming during the war dances and scrums.