On this week's episode of Goals on Film, Jason and Stuey discuss 2009 biographical rugby union drama, Invictus.
Invictus, based on the 2008 John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, and focuses on the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) had just won the Presidency in South Africa, and took a great deal of interest in the nation’s union team, the Springboks, helping them and captain Francois Pineaar (Matt Damon) prepare for the World Cup in the fall of the apartheid and mixed feeling about the team and Mandela’s reign.
The Springboks go to the World Cup, having gained automatic qualification, as it’s being hosted in their home country. The team defies expectations to reach the Final against the New Zealand All Blacks, and in an extra-time thriller, South African prevail 15-12, to unite the nation and celebrate their first World Cup title.
Goals on Film talk about the history behind the 1995 Rugby World Cup and South Africa's famous victory, Nelson Mandela and his impact throughout his presidency, how well the entire movie was shot to capture the sport and the feelings and emotions of the time, while also taking a look at the casting choices of Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon especially, how they got into their respective roles, while also touching on their attempts at the South African accent.
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