Monday 12 July 2010

Invictus


2009 - Dir: Clint Eastwood
Shown at FeckenOdeon 2 on 16th July, 2010
It was only a matter of time before somebody made a film about Nelson Mandela - one of the few truly inspirational figures of the late 20th Century. It was also only a matter of time before somebody cast Morgan Freeman to play the great man - even Mandela himself had accepted that the only actor capable of such a task was the veteran American. It wasn’t so obvious that the film, when it eventually appeared, would not concern itself with the great struggle to achieve majority rule in South Africa but focused instead on the period of consolidation that followed Mandela’s election as President - the battle for hearts and minds and the healing of old sores. It’s a period that could be said to be Mandela’s finest - a situation that could so easily have run out of control and, in other nations had resulted in civil war and genocide, begat the era of Truth and Reconciliation. That such an era should have begun with and depended upon the game of rugby is either a stroke of luck... or a touch of genius...
The choice of director to tell this extraordinary story was initially equally surprising. Clint Eastwood, of Dirty Harry and spaghetti western fame, isn’t a name that springs to mind when considering a docu-drama with political overtones. But Mr Eastwood, now 80 years old and still working, has no less than 35 feature films under his directorial belt and is regarded as one of the most dependable craftsmen working in the industry. He’s known for telling a story simply and directly, letting the actors do their work and for understanding every nut and bolt of the film-making process. It’s said that he insists that his actors wear as little makeup as possible and he likes to print first takes - as a result, his films consistently finish on schedule and on budget. That’s not to say that his films lack style or vitality - he just knows how to achieve results in a totally calm and professional way. Perhaps other directors should watch and learn?



  • Jonah Lomu, the imposing New Zealand player, is portrayed by Zak Feaunati, who was once a player of the Bath Rugby team and is currently head of Rugby at Bishop Vesey's Grammar school in Sutton Coldfield.

  • All the rugby games were filmed at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium, where they had actually been played. When filming the games, there were only 2,000-plus extras in the stands. Using motion-capture techniques, the visual effects team was able to "sell out" the stadium with 62,000 fans.

  • Matt Damon met François Pienaar and told the director "You know, this guy is huge!" Eastwood replied, "Hell, you worry about everything else. Let me worry about that." By structuring set-ups and camera angles, Eastwood made the average-height Damon look about Pienaar's height.

  • The word "invictus" is Latin for "unbeaten". It is also the name of a short poem written in 1875 by William Ernest Henley. It was written while Henley was in hospital having his foot amputated.

  • Clint Eastwood became a convert to rugby. He watched so many matches in preparation for the film that he found himself not only understanding it but also enjoying it.