(12A, 133 minutes)
ON FEBRUARY 11, 1990, when Nelson Mandela walked free from Robben Island after more than a quarter of a century of incarceration, he discovered a country divided by apartheid.
His release lit the touch-paper on civil unrest as he worked together with President de Klerk to end apartheid and begin the difficult healing process.
Clint Eastwood’s majestic new film chronicles this volatile period in South Africa’s history, and the true story of President Mandela’s dogged quest to reunite his fractured country through the game of rugby.
Adapted by screenwriter Anthony Peckham from the book Playing the Enemy, by John Carlin, Invictus is another superb drama from one of the greatest living directors.
Bone-crunching sequences on the rugby field are constructed with attention to detail, and edited at a brisk pace to sustain dramatic momentum.
These technically demanding scenes contrast with intimate exchanges between the president, his advisers and bodyguards that reveal the deep scars in the proud, beating heart of a nation.
President Mandela (Oscar-nominated Morgan Freeman) despairs at the divisions in his country, not least on the rugby field, as he discovers that only white South Africans cheer on the Springboks.
With one year until his nation hosts the prestigious Rugby World Cup, Mandela attempts to heal the emotional rift and inspire captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon, also nominated for an Oscar) and his men to victory, despite their underdog status.
Mandela’s family and allies, including his loyal aide Brenda Mazibuko (Adjoa Andoh), advise him against this course of action, believing that social concerns are much more pressing than an international sports tournament.
The president believes that with the eyes of the world on his country, he can engineer lasting change and provide the children of South Africa with a glorious future, but first he must convince Pienaar and the players to follow his lead.
Invictus elegantly sidesteps the pitfalls of the sports genre, adhering closely to the facts and thereby eschewing sentimentality.
Eastwood’s film celebrates the titanic efforts of Mandela and Pienaar on and off the pitch, relying on magnificent performances from the leads to embody these charismatic figures.
Freeman doesn’t mimic the elderly statesman; he crafts his own interpretation of the president, full of gravitas and self-assurance, even when his health is failing.
Damon bulks up with a convincing accent as the embattled captain, desperate to quell unrest within his own changing room.
Shot on location in Cape Town and Johannesburg, Invictus beautifully captures the earthy colours of the country and the indomitable spirit of its people. Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens’s jazz-tinged soundtrack sometimes seems misplaced, but doesn’t distract from our involvement with the characters as they risk everything to bring neighbours together under one flag.
(U, 97 minutes)
IN AN extraordinary career, producer Walt Disney redefined the boundaries of hand-drawn animation, initially on television and later, and more prominently, on the big screen.
In 1928, he released Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon with synchronised sound, and, in 1937, the world whistled along to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length animated film in history.
Disney collected an astonishing 26 Oscars for his pioneering efforts and his legacy lives on in the studio which bears his name.
Since his death in 1966, Disney’s animation division has continued to redefine the art of animation, reaching a peak in 1992 when Beauty and the Beast became the first animated feature to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars.
Now, the studio casts its first-ever African-American princess in this enchanting reworking of the Grimm brothers’ fairytale, set in New Orleans around the time of World War I.
Restaurant owner James (voiced by Terrence Howard) cooks the best gumbo in the city, while his seamstress wife, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey), tends to their daughter, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose).
When the old man goes off to war and never returns, Tiana is forced to make her own way in the world, dreaming of the day she might open her own restaurant and serve up her father’s signature dish.
Those dreams are put on hold when Tiana is approached by a smooth-talking frog, who claims to be Prince Naveen of Malvonia (Bruno Campos).
He asks for one kiss to break the spell that has been placed on him and she obliges, only to be transformed into a frog herself.
Trapped in their amphibious state and pursued by scheming voodoo man Dr Facilier (Keith David), Tiana and Naveen must track down queen of the bayou, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), aided by a music-loving alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a crazy firefly (Jim Cummings).
The Princess and the Frog, which has been nominated for the best animated feature film Oscar, is classic Disney fare, pitting two mismatched souls on a great adventure that ultimately brings them together.
Rose and Campos relish their characters’ constant bickering, while David hams it up a treat as the witchdoctor who unleashes dark spirits to do his bidding.
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, who previously made The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, effortlessly meld romance, comedy and rousing musical numbers with old-fashioned family values that have become a staple of the Disney brand.
Most important, this tale of female empowerment buoys the soul as it introduces a menagerie of cute and cuddly critters, who – like the plucky heroine – prove that anything is possible.
The soundtrack, composed by Randy Newman, swings effortlessly from Tiana’s heartfelt ballad Almost There to Mama Odie’s barnstorming Dig a Little Deeper.
Walt Disney would be very proud.