The Power of One cover art

The Power of One Details

1992 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 80
  • from 200 members

7-year-old P.K. (Guy Witcher) is a white South African raised on his family's farm by his Zulu nanny. When his mother takes ill, he is sent away to an Afrikaner boarding school, where he is picked on and nearly killed by the school bully during a pep rally for Hitler. P.K. survives and is sent to live with his grandfather. He .. Read more

Starring Stephen Dorff, Faye Masterson, Morgan Freeman
Director John G. Avildsen
Genres Drama

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The Power of One

7-year-old P.K. (Guy Witcher) is a white South African raised on his family's farm by his Zulu nanny. When his mother takes ill, he is sent away to an Afrikaner boarding school, where he is picked on and nearly killed by the school bully during a pep rally for Hitler. P.K. survives and is sent to live with his grandfather. He befriends Doc (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a jailed German musician, and a black inmate (Morgan Freeman), who teaches P.K. how to use his fists for some quick boxing moves. At 12, P.K. (now played by Simon Fenton), witnesses black inmates being cruelly humiliated by their racist white jailers. Taking note of P.K.'s fluidity for languages, his black mentor spreads the word that P.K. is the incarnation of the mythic Rain Maker, a messianic liberator who is destined to unite all the African tribes. By the time he's 18-years-old, P.K. (now played by Stephen Dorff) is becoming the Great White Hope for the black Africans, boxing his way into their hearts and minds. He joins up with an old boxing foe (Alois Moyo), who is now a township activist, and takes up the apartheid struggle. But things get confusing when P.K. falls in love with the daughter (Fay Masterson) of an apartheid leader.

Starring Stephen Dorff, Faye Masterson, Morgan Freeman
Director John G. Avildsen
Run time DVD: 2 hrs 7 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: not available
Production year: 1992
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (2) of The Power of One

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  • A glossy adaptation of Bryce Courtenay's novel, set in '30s South Africa, where orphaned PK (latterly played by Dorff)... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
  • Another instalment of crude animation and an incomprehensible story; for fans only.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of The Power of One

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  • 18 out of 18 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Great Film

    I saw this film when I was 13 and fell in love with Stephen Dorf. What a powerful film. The story line is great and the acting supports the film.

      • A customer from Clapton, London
  • Most recent members' review of The Power of One

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  • 18 out of 18 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Great Film

    I saw this film when I was 13 and fell in love with Stephen Dorf. What a powerful film. The story line is great and the acting supports the film.

      • A customer from Clapton, London
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Rating breakdown

200 Member ratings
  • 100
73
  • 90
31
  • 80
44
  • 70
15
  • 60
14
  • 50
3
  • 40
5
  • 30
2
  • 20
7
  • 10
6

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    • The Power of One
      7-year-old P.K. (Guy Witcher) is a white South African raised on his family's farm by his Zulu nanny. When his mother takes ill, he is sent away to an Afrikaner boarding school, where he is picked on and nearly killed by the school bully during a pep rally for Hitler. P.K. survives and is sent to ...