INVICTUS (12A).

Drama. Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Adjoa Andoh, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern, Julian Lewis Jones. Director: Clint Eastwood.

On February 11, 1990, when Nelson Mandela walked free from Robben Island after more than a quarter of a century of incarceration, he found a country still divided by apartheid.

His release lit the touch paper on civil unrest as he worked together with President de Klerk to end segregation and begin the difficult healing process.

Clint Eastwood’s majestic new film chronicles this volatile period in South Africa’s history, and the story of President Mandela’s quest to reunite his fractured country through the 1995 rugby World Cup.

Adapted by screenwriter Anthony Peckham from the book Playing The Enemy, by John Carlin, Invictus is another superb humanist drama from one of the greatest living directors.

Bone-crunching sequences on the field are accurately staged and edited at a brisk pace to sustain momentum.

President Mandela (Freeman) despairs at the divisions in his country, not least on the rugby field, where only white South Africans cheer on the national side, the Springboks.

With one year until his nation hosts the World Cup, Mandela attempts to heal the rift and inspire captain Francois Pienaar (Damon) and his men to victory.

Mandela’s family and political allies, including his loyal aide Brenda Mazibuko (Andoh), advise him against this, believing that social concerns are more pressing than international sport.

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.

Invictus elegantly sidesteps the pitfalls of the sports genre, adhering closely to the facts and 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.

Damon bulks up with a convincing accent as the embattled captain, desperate to quell unrest in his own changing room.

Shot on location in Cape Town and Johannesburg, Invictus captures the earthy colours of the country and the indomitable spirit of its people.

Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens’ jazz-tinged soundtrack is sometimes misplaced, but doesn’t detract from our involvement with the characters as they strive to bring a country together under one flag.

*****