Don’t kick; just go see ‘Invictus’

I wasn’t sure about going to see the new rugby film. For one thing, it’s about … rugby.

Also, I still think that they should have come up with another title than “Invictus,” which - no matter how justifiable it is - simply doesn’t tumble easily off the tongue.

I have problems with the way that director/producer Clint Eastwood oversaw the editing (as in “Gran Torino,” he has problems here with back-and-forth conversation). Finally, there’s the genre that “Invictus” belongs to: the cheesy sports film, which obligates it to, among other things, underscore the emotions with some at-times corny music.

All that said, “Invictus” is one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen in a long time.

It’s based in fact, which is that the South African rugby team won the 1995 World Cup, an international competition that pits the top teams from such places as Western Samoa, Fiji, Wales and Argentina in a tournament held every four years (the next one, set for 2011, will be held in New Zealand).

What makes the story so powerful is that the 1995 tournament, which South Africa was host of, was overshadowed by apartheid. Nelson Mandela, who’d been held in prison for 27 years, had been elected president the year before. According to the film, Mandela saw the political opportunity that the rugby competition presented. It was a way to bind both the black and white groups behind a world championship.

Until then, South African blacks cared mostly about soccer - and, when it came to rugby, rooted mostly for South Africa’s opponents. Why? Because the rugby team was symbolic of white power. Mandela thought that by supporting the rugby team, known as the Springboks, he could help with reconciliation.

Whatever the truth of the movie’s specifics - I have no idea, for example, whether Mandela  (played by Morgan Freeman) ever invited the Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to tea - the movie has an authentic feel. Especially the game sequences.

So cheesy or no, “Invictus” is a worthy view. And did I say that Eastwood signed Morgan Freeman to play Mandela. You know Freeman, right? He’s the guy who played … uh, God?

Below : The trailer for “Invictus.