History Film / Invictus

* EnemyOfMyEnemy: Many black South Africans associate the Springboks with apartheid and therefore don't like them. When they go to rugby matches, they root for whatever team is playing against the Springboks. Mandela witnesses this happening in person at a rugby match and mentions to his staff that he and his fellow prison inmates used to do the same thing. Of course, such attitudes have changed dramatically by the end of the film.

* FollowTheLeader: Soon after this movie, the Biopic ''Winnie'' was announced, about the life of Nelson's estranged wife, Winnie Mandela, starring [[WTHCastingAgency Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard as Winnie and Nelson Mandela]].

* ThoseTwoGuys: Two of the bodyguards appear recurrently, showing the evolution of feelings between blacks and whites.

* WorfHadTheFlu: IRL, the All Blacks were largely suffering from food poisoning. Conspiracy theories abound about a fictional "Suzy the Waitress".

February 11, 1990 -- Nelson Mandela finally walks free after twenty-seven years behind bars. Four years later, he became the first black president of post-apartheid South Africa, bringing with him a platform of reconciliation between the white minority, who benefited the most from decades of racial segregation, and the black majority, who in turn suffered the most.

Still seeing some potential with the Springboks, Mandela (Morgan Freeman) personally summons its captain, twenty-seven year old François Pienaar (Matt Damon), and places upon him a herculean task: to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted next year by South Africa.

February 11, 1990 -- Nelson Mandela finally walks free after 27 years behind bars. Four years later, he became the first black president of post-apartheid South Africa, bringing with him a platform of reconciliation between the white minority, who benefited the most from decades of racial segregation, and the black majority, who in turn suffered the most.

Still seeing some potential with the Springboks, Mandela personally summons its captain, 27-year-old François Pienaar, and places upon him a herculean task: to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted next year by South Africa.

''Invictus'' is a 2009 film directed by Creator/ClintEastwood, starring Creator/MorganFreeman and Creator/MattDamon as Mandela and Pienaar, respectively.

* SideBet: Mandela and New Zealand PM Bolger have a bet on the final match. Bolger first offers all his country's goats against all the diamonds of South Africa. Mandela chuckled and instead suggests the wager be a nice case of wine.

* ClimacticMusic: Thousands of South African fans enthusiastically singing [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shosholoza "Shosholoza"]] during the World Cup final.

Still seeing some potential with the Springboks, Mandela personally summons its captain, 27-year-old Francois Pienaar, and places upon him a herculean task: to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted next year by South Africa.

Based on John Carlin's ''Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.''

* ICouldaBeenAContender: Pinaar's wife comments that the sports reporter who won't stop ripping into the Springboks team is just bitter because the team was boycotted when he played for them, so they never competed internationally.

* NotableOriginalMusic: "9,000 Days Invictus" and "Colorblind", both written by Creator/ClintEastwood and performed by the South African ''a capella'' group Overtone.

* DevelopmentHell: MorganFreeman had been attached to a Nelson Mandela {{Biopic}} since the 90s.

* FakeNationality: Americans Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon playing South Africans.

* RealLifeRelative: Rugby-player Joel Stransky [[note]]The guy who scores the winning score in the final game[[/note]] was played by actor Scott Eastwood. Gee, I wonder who he was related to...
** In his defence, his "career-name" is Scott Reeves, using his mothers last name, in order to escape any extra privileges. Of course, that wouldn't exactly work in this case.

* BatmanGambit: The film (and the novel it is based on) essentially tells of Mandela's high-risk gamble to bring South Africa closer to reconciliation through what many considered a relic of its apartheid past.

* NotableOriginalMusic: "9,000 Days Invictus" and "Colorblind", both written by ClintEastwood and performed by the South African ''a capella'' group Overtone.

* ICouldaBeenAContender: Pinaar's wife comments that the sports reporter who won't stop ripping into the Springboks team just bitter because the team was boycotted when he played for them, so they never competed internationally.

Still seeing some potential with the Springboks, Mandela personally summons its captain, 28-year-old Francois Pienaar, and tasks him with a herculean task: to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted next year by South Africa.

Even as Pienaar encourages the Springboks to train harder and make the new South Africa proud, Mandela casts a great gamble by publicly endorsing the team to the black majority as a step forward towards reconciliation. And as the clock ticks toward May 25, when the first whistle will be blown at Cape Town, two unlikely allies must stand together if they want to see South Africa transcend race, even for just a moment.

* BatmanGambit: The film is essentially based on a high-risk gamble by Mandela to bring South Africa closer to reconciliation through what many considered a relic of its apartheid past.
* TheBigGame

* EarnYourHappyEnding: South Africa wins the tournament, and the film ends with Mandela being driven away through the streets of Johannesburg, through scenes of South Africans of all colors rejoicing.

* WhereItAllBegan: Before the final against New Zealand, Mandela brings the Springboks to Robben Island, the notorious penal colony where he spent his first 18 years in jail. Pienaar (and the rest of the team) are amazed at how Mandela could survive decades in nigh-inhumane conditions and still come out extending a hand of forgiveness to the very people who made his life a living hell.

''Invictus'' is a 2009 film directed by Creator/ClintEastwood, featuring Creator/MorganFreeman and Creator/MattDamon.

Freeman plays Nelson Mandela after his liberation from prison, as the President of South Africa, just getting into the job, but making clear from the start that he wants blacks and whites integrated. Matt Damon is François Pienaar, the captain of South Africa's rugby team, the Springboks, which at the beginning of the film is truly a lousy team.

Seeking to unify blacks and whites as a single country, Mandela watches the Springboks get crushed by England's team. Shortly thereafter, the current Sports Commission tries to wipe out the team altogether and replace it because it had represented the evil South African government that oppressed them. Mandela drops in right after the vote to single-handedly reverse the decision, as he believes that just wiping out the Springboks would convince the white population that the blacks in power here really are the menace they think they are.

Mandela tries to get the Springboks to be a great team, with help from Pienaar. At the same time, Mandela must get the black citizens to support the Springboks, and takes steps to make the team more acceptable to them, when they (and he) used to automatically cheer against them. Because it used to represent the old government, blacks wouldn't accept Springbok clothes when they were ''given'' away, so Mandela has to get it to represent his own...

Yes, this is SeriousBusiness. If you're not into big-league sports, then it may hard to believe that the future of South Africa can hinge on one sports team. Heck, Mandela's cabinet has trouble with the idea. If you ''are'' into big-league sports and can step back for a moment, then it makes slightly more sense.

* BigGame

* TokenMinority: Chester Williams, although this is justified--it actually was the case in real life.

* SloMo

* RealLifeRelative: Rugby-player Joel Stransky [[hottip:*:The guy who scores the winning score in the final game]] was played by actor Scott Eastwood. Gee, I wonder who he was related to...

* ICouldaBeenAContender: The sports reporter who won't stop ripping into the Springboks team is said to be bitter because he wasn't chosen to play for them.

* TokenMinority: Chester Williams, although this is justified.

* TokenMinority: Chester, although this is justified.

** In South Africa, it really is.

* TokenMinority: Chester, although this is [[JustifiedTrope justified]].

''Invictus'' is a 2009 film directed by ClintEastwood, featuring MorganFreeman and MattDamon.

* ForegoneConclusion: It's [[BasedOnATrueStory]], after all.

* ForgoneConclusion: It's [[BasedOnATrueStory]], after all.