Patrick Sun
Senior HTF Member
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Clint Eastwood returns with a very timely film covering the improvement of South Africa's racial discord through national pride supporting their rugby team, the Springboks, in the 1995 World Cup.
Against the long history of Apartheid in South Africa, Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for 27 years for his role in sabotage against South Africa's interest while seeking ways to end apartheid and move towards a more democratic and multi-racial governance, became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. Though Mandela faced an uphill battle towards racial harmony as president, he pressed forward, trying to find a way to sway public opinion of the new non-apartheid goverment now in power.
Morgan Freeman handles the role of Nelson Mandela with grace, dignity and political aplomb, though the script sometimes uses his dialogue to be a bit overly didactic in spots, but overall, the spirit of change that comes from within and finds itself way outward from the evidence of action and determination and inspiration carries the film. In looking for a hook to rally all South Africans, Mandela decides that a gentle push in world of rugby is just want his country needs, and as luck would turn out, his country would host the World Cup for Rugby in 1995.
Mandela reaches out to the captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar (a white Afrikaner played by Matt Damon), with discussions of leadership and inspirational undercurrents to get people to become better than they imagine for themselves in service of a larger goal of national unity regardless of race and color. Not only are the Springboks tasked with winning the World Cup, they are also charged with travelling throughout South Africa to promote rugby and racial harmony (though the Springboks only had Chester as their sole black player on the team at the time, he was a tremendous beacon at the time ). The team travels to improvished areas, their eyes open to a much larger country than they knew before their travels. Towards the end, they also visit Robben Island, which served as Mandela's prison for 18 years, and Pienaar was able to grasp the resolve of Mandela's politcal convictions while standing inside his small cell, reflecting on what he was prepared to give up to rid his country of apartheid.
The film takes its time setting up the political climate of South Africa in 1994-1995, as we see the difficult birth of a multi-racial South Africa in the everyday workforce through the integration of black and whites in Mandela's security detail, as political unrest and the successful assassination attempt of the ANC leadership Chris Hani in 1993 carried the day for the security detail. In parallel, the Springboks looks like the Bad News Boks at the start of the film, but soon, with Mandela's gentle nudges in the proper sports bodies, they are whipped into shape and become a force to be reckoned with on the rugby field, although they still were underdogs in most of their matches in the World Cup draws.
But, as unsentimental the films begins, the film gains enough traction to rouse viewers on this improbable sports journey that helped in unifying the races in South Africa after the end of Apartheid in the early 1990's.
I will offer that I don't know much about rugby, so they did a little to try and help the viewers along, but all that scrumming and how points are scored is a little bewildering but you just kind of go with it as the sport action on the field propels us through the World Cup action.
I give this film 3 stars, or a grade of B.
Against the long history of Apartheid in South Africa, Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for 27 years for his role in sabotage against South Africa's interest while seeking ways to end apartheid and move towards a more democratic and multi-racial governance, became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. Though Mandela faced an uphill battle towards racial harmony as president, he pressed forward, trying to find a way to sway public opinion of the new non-apartheid goverment now in power.
Morgan Freeman handles the role of Nelson Mandela with grace, dignity and political aplomb, though the script sometimes uses his dialogue to be a bit overly didactic in spots, but overall, the spirit of change that comes from within and finds itself way outward from the evidence of action and determination and inspiration carries the film. In looking for a hook to rally all South Africans, Mandela decides that a gentle push in world of rugby is just want his country needs, and as luck would turn out, his country would host the World Cup for Rugby in 1995.
Mandela reaches out to the captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar (a white Afrikaner played by Matt Damon), with discussions of leadership and inspirational undercurrents to get people to become better than they imagine for themselves in service of a larger goal of national unity regardless of race and color. Not only are the Springboks tasked with winning the World Cup, they are also charged with travelling throughout South Africa to promote rugby and racial harmony (though the Springboks only had Chester as their sole black player on the team at the time, he was a tremendous beacon at the time ). The team travels to improvished areas, their eyes open to a much larger country than they knew before their travels. Towards the end, they also visit Robben Island, which served as Mandela's prison for 18 years, and Pienaar was able to grasp the resolve of Mandela's politcal convictions while standing inside his small cell, reflecting on what he was prepared to give up to rid his country of apartheid.
The film takes its time setting up the political climate of South Africa in 1994-1995, as we see the difficult birth of a multi-racial South Africa in the everyday workforce through the integration of black and whites in Mandela's security detail, as political unrest and the successful assassination attempt of the ANC leadership Chris Hani in 1993 carried the day for the security detail. In parallel, the Springboks looks like the Bad News Boks at the start of the film, but soon, with Mandela's gentle nudges in the proper sports bodies, they are whipped into shape and become a force to be reckoned with on the rugby field, although they still were underdogs in most of their matches in the World Cup draws.
But, as unsentimental the films begins, the film gains enough traction to rouse viewers on this improbable sports journey that helped in unifying the races in South Africa after the end of Apartheid in the early 1990's.
I will offer that I don't know much about rugby, so they did a little to try and help the viewers along, but all that scrumming and how points are scored is a little bewildering but you just kind of go with it as the sport action on the field propels us through the World Cup action.
I give this film 3 stars, or a grade of B.
