Invictus

Hi fellas !!

The last Bombay movie which made me want to watch it all over again was Rang de Basanti and I couldn't get bored of it any given day.

The last Hollywood movie I saw was The Dark Knight, that I can repeatedly watch, not just 'cos of Heath Ledger's stellar performance, but also for the story, the making, the direction, the music. Basically, the works.

Till about last night, Clint Eastwood was just a father figure in Hollywood, whose last few movies (barring the Letters from Iwo Jima) I have watched and made a point never to miss. Year after year, starting from when I first caught Mystic River, to Million Dollar Baby to Flags of our Father, to Changeling and now Invictus, he has been nominated for the Academy Awards for almost every movie of his and is a definite tour-de-force for his choice of topics and his range of movies he makes.

For people who have watched his directed movies, you cannot miss the emotional twist in the end in each of his movie. Although, I haven't been an ardent fanboy of his genre of movies till now, his latest work makes me count him as amongst the rarest filmmakers who I enjoy and look forward to watch. His is a simple type of cinema, never-heard of a story, punch-me-in-the-gut direction and makes you wanna sit up and notice. He has captured the essence of America till now, like probably no one I have seen (with the exception of Sam Mendes, for his American suburban sweet stories) on celluloid.

His latest venture, INVICTUS, is one such film which blends a lot of fact with very little fiction. As is the trend with most of his films, they are usually real-life stories glorified on screen for the make benefit of the lay cinema-goer.

Invictus, for what this post is about, is a simple story (yet again) of how Nelson Mandela took reins of post-apartheid South Africa and converted the racism (most of it) through the valiant efforts of a South African National Rugby Team. It is a story of inspiration, of true determination, of chance, of courage, of leadership, of sport, of politics, of strategy, of elimination of apartheid, of nationalism (without the jingoism), of a Man who has changed the way the World views South Africa until now, and for many years to come.

Hollywood, to us, was only USA with exotic locations around the world representing either fantasy stories (LOTR, Harry Potter etc.), Action movies (007, XXX etc.), Romance (usually within USA) and Comedies and Dramas set in most USA by American directors. The rare loci-based stories have stamps of either Migrants to the USA (Steven Speilberg, Baz Luhrmann, Brian de Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese etc.) themselves or their forefathers before them.

The two best movies of last year were District 9 (directed by a South Africa, Neill Blomkamp under the banner of Peter Jackson) and now, Invictus, according to me, of course, and surprisingly both were directed in South Africa. (btw, I have not seen The Hurt Locker..itching to see it). Somehow, it makes me wonder what South Africa has promised to the World in the past decade for it to prosper so willingly and so endearingly, inspite of its most decadent past. The Man behind this is, of course, Mr. Nelson Mandela (or Madiba, as he is fondly called in this movie).

Invictus allows us to visit this personality as soon as he assumes office after a particular revolution, which has truly changed the political landscape of the Republic of South Africa. The Blacks now enjoy freedom as much as the Whites in the country and the Revolution is here to stay. The beginning sequence of the movie shows how Mandela came to power (through the biggest election the country had seen in decades), and which allowed a Black President in an African country, predominated by Whites (Take that, USA!!!).

His stint at the Robben Island prison for 27 years for his fight against racism and apartheid had changed the man into a gentle giant of unassuming proportions. Morgan Freeman has captured the essence of the personality almost perfectly. A few minutes into the movie and it is easy to assume Morgan Freeman is the real face of Nelson Mandela, till you are shown clips of Mr. Mandela during the credits in the end.

South Africa (RSA), as you may all know, before Nelson Mandela's election, was barred from participating in any international sport, including Cricket and most importantly, Rugby - which was the White Man's sport, which dominated the RSA. One interesting article I read after the movie was about how a White man was voting for Nelson Mandela during the historic election on the premises that the Rugby team shall only be allowed to play once the Revolution was over and Nelson Mandela was elected President of the RSA. Rugby was the lifeblood of the Whites in RSA and the Green-and-Gold uniform was their emblem of supremacy over the Blacks, who were more interested in Football. It is said tongue-in-cheek by one of Madiba's White bodyguards about Rugby: "Football is a Gentleman's game played by Ruffians, while Rugby is a Ruffian game, played by Gentlemen".

The Springboks (the Bokke) as the Rugby team was known was in RSA, was supported by only the Whites and the Blacks in the stadium supported any other team which played against them. To make matters worse, after the Revolution, once the Springboks were allowed back on the International stage, due to their long-resting period, the team had become rusty and it was impossible to get them to win. It was no wonder then that the newly formed Sport Association of RSA wanted to eliminate the name "Springboks" and form a new unit called the "Proteas" (as any RSA international sport team is now called).

The premise of the movie is how Mandela re-affirmed his faith in the Springboks, wanted to give Hope and Courage to his fellow countrymen, leading by example and converting the hopeless Springbok team into a winning team. He shared the Poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley, which kept him sane during his stint at the Robben Island Prison. The movie beautifully gives us a glimpse of the Island prison and the Room in which he was kept captive for 27 long years. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Francois Pienaar (the captain of the Rugby team), played excellently by Matt Damon, the President shares his vision for the country and how winning the Rugby World Cup, to be held in RSA, would unite the Whites and the Blacks and give Hope and Courage and Brotherhood to a country torn by apartheid.

In a sport story, we usually know the end, it is the execution and the drama, which is captured beautifully by Eastwood, which makes this film worth a second watch.

I urge you all to catch this film. It may not be the best film you have even seen, but it surely is a good film you have seen in a very long time.

The result of this extraordinary story is for everyone to see. RSA is arguably the no. 1 tourist destination for people from developing countries. It's political, economical and ecological landscape has changed drastically and all thanks to the man, Nelson Mandela.

I read in the Autobiography of Sir Richard Branson, how he has started a group called "The Elders", which comprises of the best of humanitarian leaders, political and businessmen alike, who have got together to solve the World's problems. It is a spinoff of the UN and handles successfully matters of minor importance to the UN (but of wholesome importance to the World, nonetheless) like Elders in a family do. Nelson Mandela, not surprisingly, and his wife, Mrs. Winnie Mandela, are a part of The Elders. I hope India can learn a lesson or two from RSA.

I am sure we can eliminate the rampant discrimation, the racism like RSA did. We can learn a bit or more from the economic model, the tourism model (when, in fact, we have more to offer in terms of diversity than probably any other country in the world) and grow exponentially.

To each country, its own !!

Watch the movie if you can. I don't know if you will earn anything out of it, but am sure you won't lose anything if you watch it.

The Wall