Invictus movie review

Question: What's more impressive than a former freedom fighter being elected President after being released from prison? Answer: That same man being willing to forgive the people who imprisoned him. Welcome to "Invictus," the story of President Nelson Mandela and the South African Rugby team's momentous victory in the (Rugby) World Cup. The movie begins with the Rugby team witnessing Mandela's release. "Remember this day, boys," the racist coach says. "This is the day our country went to the dogs." His sentiments reflect the views of many white people living in South Africa, especially those government employees who were employed by President DeClerk, who supported "apartheid." President Mandela, however, is quick to assure them that he wishes for them to work for him. He even hires DeClerk's former bodyguards to bolster security, much to the chagrin of his three native security guards. Meanwhile, Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African Rugby team, faces the challenge of leading the South Africa Springboks to victory in the midst of the change in government. Then, one night, he receives a phone call inviting him to have tea with President Mandela the following day. During his visit, Pienaar gets the impression that President Mandela wants the Springboks to win the World Cup. So begins the attempt to win while facing heavy odds. "Invictus" is a story of forgiveness and learning to forgive. It takes the African security guards a while to forgive the men they are working with. "Not long ago, these men tried to kill us," one of them tells Nelson Mandela, wondering why he had hired them. "Forgiveness starts here," the president answers. It takes a while for the rugby players, with the exception of Peinaar, to accept the change in government. "Our country is changing," the captain says. "And we need to change as well. "Invictus" is rated PG-13 for brief strong language. "f---" is used. A player complains that a can of beer tastes like "sh--," and Peinaar says the same thing when he tastes the beer. There is a scene where people are drinking in a bar. There is some sports violence, which is to be expected in a rugby match. There are a couple of scary scenes: one at the beginning initially looks like there's going to be an assassination attempt, but it turns out to be two men delivering a stack of newspapers, and one near the end in which an airplane pilot looks like he's going to crash into a rugby stadium, but he pulls up at the last minute.