''Invictus'' is a 2009 biographical sports film directed by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

and starring

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

and Matt Damon, making it the third collaboration between Eastwood and Freeman after '' Unforgiven'' (1992) and ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' (2004). The story is based on the 2008 John Carlin book ''Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation'' about the events in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The Springboks were not expected to perform well, the team having only recently returned to high-level international competition following the dismantling of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

—the country was hosting the World Cup, thus earning an automatic entry. Freeman portrays

South African President The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nation ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

while Damon played François Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, the South Africa

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team. ''Invictus'' was released in the United States on December 11, 2009. The title refers to the Roman divine epithet

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

and may be translated from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

as "undefeated" or "unconquered". "Invictus" is also the title of a poem, referred to in the film, by British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). The film was met with positive critical reviews and earned

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for Freeman (

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

) and Damon ( Best Supporting Actor). The film grossed $122.2 million on a budget of $50–60 million.

Plot

On 11 February 1990,

is released from

Victor Verster Prison Drakenstein Correctional Centre (formerly Victor Verster Prison) is a low-security prison between Paarl and Franschhoek, on the R301 road 5 km from the R45 Huguenot Road, in the valley of the Dwars River in the Western Cape of South Africa. ...

after having spent 27 years in captivity. Four years later, Mandela is elected the first black President of South Africa. His presidency faces enormous challenges in the post-Apartheid era, including rampant poverty and crime, and Mandela is particularly concerned about racial divisions between black and

white South Africans White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settle ...

, which would lead to violence. The ill will which both groups hold towards each other is seen even in his own security detail where relations between the established white officers, who had guarded Mandela's predecessors, and the black ANC additions to the security detail, are frosty and marked by mutual distrust. While attending a game between the Springboks, the country's

team, and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Mandela recognises that some black people in the stadium are cheering for England, and not their own country, as the mostly-white Springboks represent prejudice and apartheid in their minds; he remarks that he did the same while imprisoned on Robben Island. Knowing that South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in one year's time, Mandela persuades a meeting of the newly black-dominated South African Sports Committee to support the Springboks. He then meets with the captain of the Springboks rugby team, François Pienaar ( Matt Damon), and implies that a Springboks victory in the World Cup will unite and inspire the nation. Mandela also shares with François a British poem, "

", that had inspired him during his time in prison. François and his teammates train. Many South Africans, both black and white, doubt that rugby will unite a nation torn apart by nearly 50 years of racial tensions, as for many black people, especially the radicals, the Springboks symbolise

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White ...

. Both Mandela and Pienaar, however, stand firmly behind their theory that the game can successfully unite the South African country. Things begin to change as the players interact with the fans and begin a friendship with them. During the opening games, support for the Springboks begins to grow among the black population. By the second game, the whole country comes together to support the Springboks and Mandela's efforts. Mandela's security team also grows closer as the racially diverse officers come to respect their comrades' professionalism and dedication. As Mandela watches, the Springboks defeat one of their arch-rivals—

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, the defending champions and known as the Wallabies—in their opening match. They then continue to defy all expectations and, as Mandela conducts trade negotiations in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, defeat

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in heavy rain to advance to

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against their other arch-rival:

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, known as the All Blacks. New Zealand and South Africa were universally regarded as the two greatest rugby nations, with the Springboks then the only side to have a winning record (20–19–2) against the All Blacks, since their first meeting in 1921. Meanwhile one day during the tournament, the Springbok team visited Robben Island, where Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail. There, Pienaar is inspired by Mandela's will and his idea of self-mastery in "Invictus". François mentions his amazement that Mandela "could spend thirty years in a tiny cell, and come out ready to forgive the people who put him there". Supported by a large home crowd of all races at

Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium (known as Emirates Airline Park for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, Pienaar motivates his teammates for the final. Mandela's security detail receives a scare when, just before the match, a

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten dest ...

Boeing 747-200 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

jetliner flies in low over the stadium. However, it is not an assassination attempt, but a demonstration of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

, with the message "Good Luck, Bokke"—the Springboks'

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

nickname—painted on the undersides of the plane's wings. Mandela also famously arrives onto the field before the match wearing a Springbok cap and a replica of Pienaar's #6 jersey. The Springboks complete their run by beating the All Blacks 15–12 in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

, thanks to a

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...

from fly-half

Joel Stransky Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former rugby union player. A fly-half, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. ...

. Mandela and Pienaar meet on the field together to celebrate the improbable and unexpected victory, and Mandela hands Pienaar the William Webb Ellis Cup, as the Springboks are now indeed rugby union's world champions. Mandela's car then drives away in the traffic-jammed streets leaving the stadium. He insists that there is no hurry as his security team wanted to change the route due to the cheering crowd. As Mandela watches South Africans celebrating together in the street from his car, his voice is heard reciting "Invictus" again.

Cast

, the head of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, who has become the first black

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nat ...

* Matt Damon as François Pienaar, the Springboks' captain and openside flanker * Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala *

Adjoa Andoh Adjoa Andoh Hon. FRSL (born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. On stage, she has played lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. On television, she appeared in ...

as Brenda Mazibuko * Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne Feyder * Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy * Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens * Marguerite Wheatley as Nerine Winter, Pienaar's wife * Patrick Lyster as François Pienaar's father *

Leleti Khumalo Leleti Khumalo (born 30 March 1970) is a South African actress known for her leading role in the movie and stage play '' Sarafina!'' and for her roles in other films such as ''Hotel Rwanda'', '' Yesterday'' and ''Invictus'', as well as the soap ...

as Mary *

McNeil Hendricks McNeil Hendricks (born 10 July 1973), also known as "Maccie", is a former South African rugby union player who played primarily as a wing. He starred in the movie ''Invictus'', in which he played the role of Chester Williams. Early life Hendri ...

as Chester Williams, the Springboks'

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

and the only black player on the team * Scott Eastwood as

, the Springboks' fly half and goal kicker * Zak Feaunati as Jonah Lomu, the All Blacks'

, considered the best player in the world * Grant L. Roberts as

Ruben Kruger Ruben Jacobus Kruger (30 March 1970 – 27 January 2010) was a South African rugby union player. He played as a flanker. He had two daughters Zoë (b. 2002) and Isabella (b. 2005), whose play tennis. Isabella played quarter final on the junior ...

, the Springboks' blindside flanker * Rolf E. Fitschen as Naka Drotské, the Springboks' reserve hooker * Vaughn Thompson as

Rudolf Straeuli Rudolf August Wilkens Straeuli (born 20 August 1963 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player and coach and currently the CEO of the Lions Rugby Company. He played in the positions of flanker and Number 8, making ...

, the Springboks' reserve flanker * Robin B. Smith as Johan de Villiers, sport commentator * Charl Engelbrecht as Garry Pagel, the Springboks' reserve

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

* Graham Lindemann as Kobus Wiese, the Springboks' number 4 lock * Louis Minnaar as Springbok coach * Sean Cameron Michael as Springbok equipment manager * Danny Keogh as Louis Luyt *

Bonnie Henna Bonnie Mbuli (born 3 March 1979) is a South African actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She was a presenter on the SABC 3 show '' Afternoon Express''. Since 2020, she has starred in the BBC drama series ''Noughts + Crosses''. ...

as Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane * Kgosi Mongake as Sipho * David Dukas as the pilot of the Boeing 747 who flew low over Ellis Park Stadium just prior to the appearance of Mandela on the field before the game started * Hennie Bosman as a racist rugby coach

Production

The film is based on the book ''Playing the Enemy: Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation'' by John Carlin. The filmmakers met with Carlin for a week in his

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

home, discussing how to transform the book into a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

.Interview with Carlin, BBC Radio 5, May 21, 2009 Filming began in March 2009 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Primary filming in South Africa was completed in May 2009. Morgan Freeman was the first actor to be cast, as Mandela. Matt Damon was then cast as team captain François, despite being significantly smaller than him and much smaller than members of the current Springbok squad. He was given intensive coaching by Chester Williams, another star of the 1995 team, at the Gardens Rugby League Club. "In terms of stature and stars, this certainly is one of the biggest films ever to be made in South Africa," said Laurence Mitchell, the head of the Cape Film Commission. On March 18, 2009, Scott Eastwood was cast as

flyhalf In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

(whose

provided the Springboks' winning margin in the 1995 final). Over Christmas 2008, auditions had taken place in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to try to find a well-known British actor to play Pienaar's father, but in March it was decided to cast a lesser-known South African actor instead. Zak Fe'aunati, who had previously played professionally for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, was cast as Jonah Lomu, while Grant L. Roberts was cast as

, who was the Springboks' other starting flanker in 1995. Chester Williams was also involved with the project to teach rugby to those of the cast playing players who had not played it before, while Freeman and Williams also became involved with the

ESPN 30 For 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...

film ''The 16th Man''. Filming of the final also took place on location at

, the actual venue for the 1995 final.

Release

''Invictus'' opened in 2,125 theaters in North America at #3 with US$8,611,147 and was the largest opening for a rugby-themed film. The film held well and ultimately earned $37,491,364 domestically and $84,742,607 internationally for a total of $122,233,971, above its $60 million budget.

Home media release

The film was released on May 18, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Special features include * Matt Damon Plays Rugby * ''Invictus'' music trailer The Blu-ray release included a digital copy and additional special features: * Vision, Courage and Honor: Diplo and the Power of a True Story * Mandela Meets Morgan * The SmoothieWolf Factor documentary excerpts * Picture-in-Picture exploration with cast, crew and the real people who lived this true story

Reception

The film was met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregate

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reports that 76% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 246 reviews, with an average score of 6.60/10. The website's critical consensus is: "Delivered with typically stately precision from director Clint Eastwood, ''Invictus'' may not be rousing enough for some viewers, but Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman inhabit their real-life characters with admirable conviction." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critic David Ansen wrote:

Anthony Peckham's sturdy, functional screenplay, based on John Carlin's book ''Playing the Enemy'', can be a bit on the nose (and the message songs Eastwood adds are overkill). Yet the lapses fade in the face of such a soul-stirring story—one that would be hard to believe if it were fiction. The wonder of ''Invictus'' is that it actually went down this way.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars and wrote:

It is a very good film. It has moments evoking great emotion, as when the black and white members of the presidential security detail (hard-line ANC activists and Afrikaner cops) agree with excruciating difficulty to serve together. And when Damon's character—François Pienaar, as the team captain—is shown the cell where Mandela was held for those long years on Robben Island. My wife,
Chaz Chaz (less frequently ''Chas'' or '' Chazz'') is an English masculine given name or nickname, originally derived from a short form of Charles (abbreviated ''Chas.''), although it is also used occasionally as a short form of other given names such ...
, and I were taken to the island early one morning by Ahmed Kathrada, one of Mandela's fellow prisoners, and yes, the movie shows his very cell, with the thin blankets on the floor. You regard that cell and you think, here a great man waited in faith for his rendezvous with history.

''Shave Magazine''s Jake Tomlinson wrote:

Eastwood's film shows how sport can unify people, a straightforward and moving message that leaves audiences cheering. The sports, accurate portrayal and the solid storyline earn this movie a manliness rating of 3/5. However, the entertainment value, historical accuracy and strong message this movie delivers earn it an overall rating of 4.5 stars. Definitely, worth seeing.

''Variety'''s Todd McCarthy wrote:

Inspirational on the face of it, Clint Eastwood's film has a predictable trajectory, but every scene brims with surprising details that accumulate into a rich fabric of history, cultural impressions and emotion.

Awards and honors

Soundtrack

# "9000 days" – Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie # "Invictus Theme" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # "Colorblind" – Overtone # "Siyalinda" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # " World in Union 95" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie # "Madiba's theme" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # "Hamba Nathi" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie # "Thanda" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # "

Shosholoza "Shosholoza" is an Nguni song that was sung by the mixed tribes of gold miners in South Africa. It is a mix of Zulu and Ndebele words, and can have various other South African languages thrown in depending on the singers. It was sung by all-mal ...

" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie # "Inkathi" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # "Ole Ole Ole—We Are The Champions" – Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie # "Enqena (Anxious)" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # The South African National Anthem – Overtone # "Ukunqoba (To Conquer)" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # "Victory" – Soweto String Quartet # "Xolela (Forgiveness)" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens # "The Crossing (Osiyeza)" – Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie # "9,000 days (acoustic)" – Emile Welman

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Invictus 2009 action films 2009 biographical drama films 2000s sports films 2009 films Apartheid films English-language South African films Films directed by Clint Eastwood Films produced by Clint Eastwood Films produced by Mace Neufeld Films set in 1990 Films set in 1994 Films set in 1995 Films set in South Africa Films shot in South Africa Malpaso Productions films Films about Nelson Mandela Cultural depictions of Nelson Mandela Cultural depictions of South African men Cultural depictions of rugby footballers Rugby union films History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa Sports films based on actual events Spyglass Entertainment films Warner Bros. films American biographical drama films South African biographical drama films Zulu-language films Afrikaans-language films Xhosa-language films Rugby union and apartheid New Zealand at the 1995 Rugby World Cup South Africa at the 1995 Rugby World Cup 1995 Rugby World Cup 2009 drama films 2000s American films