The true story of the 1995 Rugby world cup played in South Africa. An Afrikaans sport, a black President and a country divided by politics and hatred
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I thought Freeman was a bit stunted and almost broke accent a few times. For anyone who hasn't read Long Walk to Freedom or lived through Mandela's extraordinary life, I think his dialogue would also come across as a bit cliche and stiff.
It's an incredible story, to be sure. I actually thought this little clip from the ESPN ESPY awards did the same job as the movie, but to better effect:
I also found the rugby bits to drag on. I might just have high standards from US sports movies like Miracle and Hoosiers but I didn't much care for Eastwood's directorial style.
It was not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. I just don't think it deserves quite the hype it got. In the end though, you simply do have to admire the man. One of the single greatest men of our time.
Yes, I caught a couple of times where his American accent nearly broke through. That said? The rest was so well done, and the stilted speech is how Mandela talks. I have read Long Walk and lived through Apartheid and the Rainbow Nation and the high crime rate etc.
I don't think the rugby bits dragged. In fact, the story is about rugby so it's a bit daft to see it and not expect lots of rugby shots. That said, it's not a sports movie, and what I liked about it was that it wasn't Americanised hype.
He honestly deserves one. He got Mandela's speech cadences and way of walking down pat. Although to be honest, I was far more taken with Matt Damon's transition - I never expected him to be able to pull off the accent!!
We saw it in December and I really liked it (learned a lot, too). I'm glad to read your thoughts on it, because I had no perspective on whether it was accurate or not.
Yes, it was extremely accurate, and I love that about it. There was no mudslinging at either race, yet it acknowledged the racial tensions that even liberal people like myself felt.
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it, and learned from it. The dvd will definitely be on my bookshelf.
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I thought Freeman was a bit stunted and almost broke accent a few times. For anyone who hasn't read Long Walk to Freedom or lived through Mandela's extraordinary life, I think his dialogue would also come across as a bit cliche and stiff.
It's an incredible story, to be sure. I actually thought this little clip from the ESPN ESPY awards did the same job as the movie, but to better effect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4vlFQA-t9w
I also found the rugby bits to drag on. I might just have high standards from US sports movies like Miracle and Hoosiers but I didn't much care for Eastwood's directorial style.
It was not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. I just don't think it deserves quite the hype it got. In the end though, you simply do have to admire the man. One of the single greatest men of our time.
Reply
I don't think the rugby bits dragged. In fact, the story is about rugby so it's a bit daft to see it and not expect lots of rugby shots. That said, it's not a sports movie, and what I liked about it was that it wasn't Americanised hype.
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Yes, it was extremely accurate, and I love that about it. There was no mudslinging at either race, yet it acknowledged the racial tensions that even liberal people like myself felt.
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it, and learned from it. The dvd will definitely be on my bookshelf.
Reply
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