This film was a beautiful portrait of Mandela, who was able to combine grace, intelligence, and wisdom to accomplish his mission of uniting disparate groups of people. The scenes at Robbin Island were especially touching. Morgan Freeman should receive many awards for this role, and Matt Damon was terrific as well. I did not think that this film dragged as some others reported. I was transfixed the whole time, and I even got into the rugby matches, which for a person who doesn't pay attention to sports events (not even the Packers!), was surprising! I have already recommended it to several friends, because it is a very well done film, and it has lessons for all of us.