Invictus Movie

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

A Victorian poem written by William Henry which forms the central theme and pumps up an inspirational boost Nelson all the eighteen years he was incarcerated in a match box sized prison on Robben Island. Pooh-poohed at first by all teammates when their captain Pienaar suggests the poem as the anthem, the poem later feeds in the adrenaline to the underdog spirits of SpringBoks.

Seasoned like a fine French wine, Morgan Freeman has done a perfect job posing as the protagonist of the movie without any need to pack a new attitude to fit in the character of Nelson. Our Matt Damon alias Jason Bourne has played Francois Pienaar in the movie, the team-lead of the SpringBoks with a new tinge of being a silent leader this time.

The well chiseled brains of Nelson contrived their application in the outset of the movie plot itself stopping blacks when want to use their newly earned political power to detract identity of the springboks by snatching off their colors and logo. Nelson being a tolerant man instead flexed this as the spade to boot out the ingrained apartheid. Had been it supported, it could have thrown the nation to dangerous ramifications like civil war with police being primarily controlled by the white minority.

Nelson invites Pienaar next for the evening tea and tells him of his desire of getting SA the rugby world cup which impresses and perplexes Pienaar at the same time but he tries his best to follow up. With the help of new coach, he adopts the method of self compliance first rather than imposition to bring new ethics in his team. On the request of Nelson, the team travels to all nooks of the nation and organizes rugby camps so as to generate interest of the nation especially kids in Rugby. All the team needed was the support and motivation from their own country and Nelson did all the efforts to get the team that. He even visits them before every match and wears the team shirt to show his support. This all worked in a loop, the support improved the team’s performance which in turn raised the confidence of nation in their team giving more support to it. The blacks and whites got a common motivation which leads the black and white colors to leave Africa rather than the springbok colors. The team dethrones Australia, the incumbent champions of Rugby for the first time and grabs the winner cup.

PS: It’s the best feeling when you change the mindset of the whole crowd and bring a transformation. Few people have the guts to do that and they live for centuries to come.

I would like to recount the similar incident of troy when demigod Achilles visits his goddess mother to seek opinion of whether he should fight the war with Troy. His mother replied in affirmative even with the knowledge that his son wouldn’t survive it ; just thinking that he would be known for centuries for his might in the war but even 3 coming generations won’t remember him if he stays back and live as a normal man.

Life definitely has a purpose, search for it and get it done before you are done…..

Take Home Message: a) Inspiration and motivation has the capability to do wonders and bring the best in anyone.

b) The most hard mélange of people can be brought to terms by smart brains either in right or wrong ways( NELSON and HITLER) .