Evangelicals Now
<< March 2010 >>

Invictus

Whatever happened to Nelson Mandela’s dream?

INVICTUS
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cert. 12A
Running time: 133 minutes

Clint Eastwood continues his theme of racial reconciliation from his last film, Gran Torino, by telling the true story of how Nelson Mandela used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to unite his nation.

Eastwood attempts to peel back the layers, to reveal the driving soul of a man who reasonably should have been torn apart by his unimaginable trials, yet somehow emerged full of grace, forgiveness and the motivation to create unity between South Africans.

Christian faith down played

Invictus is the title of a 19th-century poem by William Earnest Henley, which according to the film was an inspiration to Mandela, helping him to avoid bitterness and to believe in his ability to achieve immense political (and human) goals. The poem says: ‘I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul’.

While generally Mandela doesn’t make his religious views public, he has stated that he is and always has been a Christian, and so the extent to which his humble forgivingness stems from this poem as opposed to The Bible, I suspect may have been ‘exaggerated’ by Eastwood, known for his faith-questioning characters who forge their own paths to redemption. From a Christian perspective this is disappointing, and significantly devalues the inspirational merits of the film.

Emotional music

But still Invictus is inspiring, demonstrated by each heart-warming moment of change, and each improbable step towards reconciliation. I cynically wondered whether occasionally Eastwood had gone overboard using poetic license, but have since learnt that very little portrayed on screen did not actually happen. The director’s usually understated and measured use of music is completely transformed come the rousing finale, when we are swept along by an aural swell of pulse pounding African anthems.

What South Africans think

I was privileged enough to see the film at a cinema in South Africa, and I looked around myself curious to see the reactions of the country’s residents. To my initial surprise, there were very few smiles; in fact most people seemed relatively indifferent. It’s important to remember that the events depicted took place a decade and a half ago, and to consider how circumstances in South Africa have not progressed as idealistically as Invictus might have us imagine they would have. We can be reminded that the only redemption that lasts forever is that provided by Jesus Christ, who, although the Springbok rugby team is shown to pray to, Mandela’s faith in is not touched upon.

Peter D. Marsay