Fresh
A noble and compassionate work that in its later scenes manages successfully to invest our emotions in the triumph of an important - if overlong! - sporting victory.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
Invictus
His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.
2009 · 2h 14m · PG-13
Drama, History
Directed by
Clint Eastwood
Overview
Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
Director and cast
- Clint Eastwood Director
- Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela
- Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar
- Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala
- Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy
- Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens
- Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne Feyder
- Adjoa Andoh as Brenda Mazibuko
- Marguerite Wheatley as Nerine
- Leleti Khumalo as Mary
- Patrick Lyster as Mr. Pienaar
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
76%
Tomatometer
Fresh
What Eastwood has done is to assemble a cast of American and South African actors and allow them to create something moving, exciting, and improbably true.
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
Rotten
Freeman-as-Mandela is an actor all dressed up with no place to go -- at least, nowhere we didn't already know he was headed.
Dana Stevens, Slate
Fresh
The story of how Nelson Mandela chose the white-supported national rugby team, the Springboks, to become a symbol of national reconciliation is uncharacteristically optimistic for Eastwood.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Fresh
[T]he epitome of Hollywood filmmaking in ways both good and bad: uplifting, overlong, ambitious in scope but simple in moral vision, well-crafted but inured to irony.
Christopher Orr, The New Republic
More films
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Drama · History · War · PG-13
Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives.
- Runtime
- 2h 2m
- Director
- Terry George
- Cast
- Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte
IMDb
8.1
Rotten Tomatoes
91%
Metacritic
79
Gandhi (1982)
Drama · History · PG
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloo...
- Runtime
- 3h 11m
- Director
- Richard Attenborough
- Cast
- Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox
IMDb
8.0
Rotten Tomatoes
89%
Metacritic
79
Seabiscuit (2003)
Drama · History · PG-13
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
- Runtime
- 2h 21m
- Director
- Gary Ross
- Cast
- Tobey Maguire, David McCullough, Jeff Bridges
IMDb
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes
77%
Metacritic
72
Remember the Titans (2000)
Drama · PG
After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.
- Runtime
- 1h 53m
- Director
- Boaz Yakin
- Cast
- Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Ryan Hurst
IMDb
7.8
Rotten Tomatoes
73%
Metacritic
48
J. Edgar (2011)
Crime · Drama · History · R
As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.
- Runtime
- 2h 17m
IMDb
6.6
Metacritic
59
Comments
Talk about the film with other members