Springboks

I saw Invictus a couple of weeks ago. I suppose it's taken me so long to write about it because it left me a little speechless. It was so beautiful; the scenes, the people, the dialogue, the locations, everything. It was one of those rare movies that really hit me at the core and shook my world a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a movie skeptic. Having a filmmaker fiance' means we spend most of our time watching movies (and legit good ones, although even a film school grad like him can appreciate the guilty pleasure ones). And I'll admit, I'm pretty easily pleased and amused. But there's only a couple movies that have left me unable to describe my reaction. And it's not just because the always amazing Clint Eastwood directed a movie starring the always amazing Morgan Freeman.

I'm no expert on Nelson Mandela. In fact I'm a little ashamed to say I hardly know anything about the guy. (Though I plan to change that, beginning by reading "Playing the Enemy" by John Carlin, on which the film is based). I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the storytelling. Even if the portrayal of Mandela is only 75% up to par, he still goes down in my book as one of my all time favorite people. Although according to this article from comingsoon, Morgan Freeman was handpicked by Mandela nearly a decade ago to play him in a film based on his life. Freeman has been preparing for this role since by spending as much time as possible with the man himself.

Mandela did revolutionary things for South Africa, united a nation heavily wounded by apartheid. I loved his way of thinking, sacrificing popularity with fellow black south africans in order to show white south africans that he could forgive and move on. That the future was more important than a checkered past. Yet I also appreciated that Mandela is not quite painted as a god-like figure. He is not perfect, he is human, as shown by his estranged wife and daughter. He is such a positive person and chooses the right thing over what is easy. It's simply a brilliant film.

South Africa has been on my travel wish list since my senior year of high school when I read "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay. A beautiful novel about a white boy who suffered terrible abuse by his classmates in high school and went on to become a boxer and meet some extraordinary people along the way. I haven't seen the film yet, I hear it's not highly recommended though. Johannesburg and Cape Town are two places I wouldn't mind visiting. I also think that South African accents are absolutely beautiful.