Invictus Review

I watched the movie Invictus as a historical drama about the South African Rugby World Cup and Nelson Mandela's work in fight apartheid. I thought it was a good story, but confusingly told. I wanted the characters to be developed a bit more, the story to hang together better, and to be persuaded to care about the success or failure of the Rugby team. Perhaps if I knew more of the history I would care more about the story, but I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was good, but not as good as I wanted it to be.

But then I began to consider the poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley. All of a sudden, the movie made sense. It wasn't a historical drama; it was an artistic response to the poem. The poem, not the story was the point of the movie. Or perhaps, the story was only supposed to illustrate the meaning of the poem.

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

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced or 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,
Yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

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

The movie then becomes the story of many different men and women who make this inward journey. Bearing the "bludgeonings of chance" and the cruelty of men, they lift their heads and stand firm, not because they know that tomorrow will be better, but because by standing firm, they have already conquered their greatest foe, themselves. When they stop seeing people as the enemy, they are able to forgive, to work hard, to reach out, to achieve goals they never thought were possible. People became partners, and situations became stepping stones. Then the inward victory could fuel the outward victory.

Using this perspective, I liked the movie very much. It focused on the heart of people, the "why" they do things. It showed how forgiveness changes the way we respond to everything, but it doesn't always change the way others respond to us. It separated actions from consequences, in the sense that it let actions be right, whether or not the consequences are favorable. And it showed that often the people closest to us are the ones who get hurt the most in the battles with ourselves. And no victory comes without casualties.

That perspective is not too far from the Truth God gives us in His Word. But rather than fighting on our own as the movie presents, we have a Conqueror who fights beside us. My greatest enemy is still myself, my fears, my selfishness, my grudges; but he has already conquered them, and gives me the strength to live out that victory. He lets us not only stand firm in the face of despair, but also hope. In His strength, we are not only unafraid, but filled with joy. By His mercy, we are not only unbowed, we can love those who beat us. I have something better than being the master of my own fate because Jesus, my Savior, my Lover, my King, is the captain of my soul.