Faith like Potatoes
Director: Regardt van den Bergh. Cast: Frank Rautenbach, Jeanne Nielson & others. (2006. 116 minutes)
The movie tells the story of the South African evangelist Angus Buchan. The young Buchan is a fiery tempered White African farmer. Forced to give up his land in Zambia, he leaves it to his loyal African friends and takes his family of three children and pregnant wife Jill to South Africa in a trailer, buys a plot of land and has a hard struggle putting his life back on track. He builds a mud hut with his own hands.
Angus’s violent temper is made worse by the hardships he has to go through. His determination is unflagging, but he experiences personal tragedies and natural disasters that play havoc with his farming. His wife Jill is the gentle and powerful influence of his life. When her husband is devastated by the loss of his land and confined to a road trailer, she comforts him, saying that God would give them a farm. It is she who almost drags the unwilling husband to church. His interactions with the local church community help him discover the value of faith.
Buchan surrenders to Christ. His life is now totally changed and he becomes a crowd-pulling preacher. His faith is put to the test when he makes a radical decision to plant potatoes where it had never been tried. Experts warn him that, because of the drought, nothing will come up. But Buchan plants his potatoes in the dry dust and prays to God with full trust. A miracle happens! He is rewarded with a crop of giant potatoes. The potatoes in his case become a symbol of faith, which is like something planted in a wasteland in hope of a good harvest. The fruits of faith are made known only at harvest time because till that moment it is lying hidden underground.
Invictus
Director: Clint Eastwood. Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Gorge, Adjoa Andoh, Julian Lewis Jones (2009; 133 minutes).
Invictus in Latin means ‘undefeated.’ This movie, based on a book by John Carlin, is about courageous and visionary leadership displayed by the late Nelson Mandela at a moment of grave national crisis and transformation in South Africa. Mandela inherits a deeply and violently divided country after half a century of struggle against Apartheid. He hopes to find redemption in Rugby football, the national passion of South Africans. ‘The Springboks,’ their national team, is not expected to perform remarkably. The team is made up of “Whites,” and the Africans do not support it.
When Mandela becomes President, he has to decide between the all black ANC cadres and the all white traditional Afrikaner Corps to take over the presidential security. But Mandela desires to have them work together, much against the will of both parties.
The world cup offers the opportunity to turn things around. National team captain Francois Pienaar (a White) has a memorable meeting with President Mandela when the President cites the famous poem ‘Invictus’ by W E Henley: “I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul,” recalling how it lifted up his spirits during the darkest days of his imprisonment on Robben Island. He tells Pienaar what people can do to be great beyond their own expectations. The players interact with their fans, especially the black children whom they train to play. The shared dream between the black President and the white Captain are justified. Team spirit unites the black and white officers of the President’s guard as they learn to respect and support each other. Euphoria runs high when the Springboks wins. Before the match, when the team visits the Robben Island prison where Mandela had spent twenty-seven years, they are touched by the nobility of the great man who could forgive his enemies after the terrible sufferings he had undergone.
The movie shows how a great human being (Mandela) can bring two warring and mutually suspicious races together, and build a nation.
Dr Gigy Joseph
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