There is no denying that there is a charm to this movie that is hard to escape from. How can you not be. You have an excellent Morgan Freeman as Mandela, a man who for most people is an icon for freedom. Plus to combine history and politics with a feel good sports movie is always admirable. But the charm only lasts if you can back it up with something substantial. And premise wise it was all there however Clint Eastwood failed to convince me to do so. Maybe because he kept the drama to a minimum. Apart from the good performances there is not much to the story that makes you relate to the characters. We don't really get to know Francois Pienaar. A little more background on him would have been nice. But same goes for Mandela and his family. Very briefly there is attention to him and his daughter. Barely any accounts of what apartheid was. I understand that it would have complicated matters a bit but sometimes you have no choice to do so if you want to make a point. Instead we mostly get an account of how events might have happened in the most superficial way. Now it's good of course that things are being kept realistic. Only that is part of the problem for me not being able to enjoy it as much as intended. It's not really shown enough of why it is important that the whites and blacks should change their old views and ways. The movie makes it look like that rugby managed to bring the two groups together and that of course is not true. Of course the idea behind it is one of good intentions. Yet for it to be really inspirational you need to show more. Overall this is a decent film but I have seen Clint Eastwood make more compelling ones.
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