Invictus ****

"Invictus" tells the little-known story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) in his first term as president of South Africa, used the national rugby team, the Springboks, in their quest for the world rugby championship of 1995, as a tool to help unite his deeply divided country. Freeman exudes the moral authority you would expect from someone who has played God (twice), and who was anointed by Mandela himself as his first choice to play him in a movie. And Matt Damon, who in another masterful character role plays the captain of the team, Francois Pienaar, gives us a totally believable and accessible study of a Afrikaner who comes to feel the support of all South Africans, not just the white ones.

In tackling the almost mythical Mandela, director / producer Clint Eastwood wisely focuses on the game always as an adjunct to the heavy lifting Mandela was doing in his day job. The game proves an apt metaphor as well as actual inspiration for the nation, and Eastwood delivers his trademark simplicity of style that communicates without extra flourishes or showmanship. And don't worry about the rugby - the sports scenes are handled well enough to know what's going on without having to understand the game. Here it's the emotion that counts, not the rules.

A note on the title: "Invictus" is the name of a Victorian poem by William Ernest Henley that got Mandela through some dark days in his 27-year imprisonment. Henley, crippled by bone tuberculosis, wrote, on his hospital bed, the poem that includes the famous lines " I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, which means "unconquered" in Latin, was added as the title later by an editor.

Rated PG-13. 134 minutes. Clint Eastwood - Director / Producer, Anthony Peckham - Writer (screenplay), John Carline - Writer (book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation"), Robert Lorenz - Producer, Lori McCreary - Producer, Mace Neufeld - Producer, Tom Stern - Cinematograher, Kyle Eastwood - Composer, Michael Stevens - Composer, James J. Murakami - Production Designer, Joel Cos - Editor, Gary D. Roach - Editor.

Principle actors: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon.