The Power of One

1992

Action / Drama / Sport

23
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 87% · 17 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 87% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 11329 11.3K

based on novel or book africa shower chicken apartheid bullying

Plot summary

PK, an English orphan terrorized for his family's political beliefs in Africa, turns to his only friend, a kindly world-wise prisoner, Geel Piet. Geel teaches him how to box with the motto “fight with your fists and lead with your heart”. As he grows to manhood, PK uses these words to take on the system and the injustices he sees around him - and finds that one person really can make a difference.

Director

John G. Avildsen Photo
John G. Avildsen

Top cast

Morgan Freeman Photo
Morgan Freeman as Geel Piet
Tracy Brooks Swope Photo
Tracy Brooks Swope as Mother
Daniel Craig Photo
Daniel Craig as Sgt. Botha
Tony Denham Photo
Tony Denham as Boxing Partner
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.02 GB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 7 min
Seeds 5
1.99 GB
1920*1040
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 7 min
Seeds 21

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by thesupertgal 7 / 10

Movie certainly not up to par with the fantastic book

The Power Of One is based on a novel by the very talented Bryce Courtenay. The sequel novel,Tandia, which picks up right where The Power of One left off is equally moving and compelling reading.I am promptly going to go out and read everything else he has written. Both The Power of One and Tandia have moved me beyond words. I am a white South African girl who spent 19 years of my life in SA. I led a very privileged, sheltered childhood growing up in South Africa. I was just 15 when apartheid fell apart. My parents were not racist and in fact my father dedicated his life to working as a doctor in a very poor area but I still , unbelievably, never really had a very clear picture of the horror of apartheid until Mr Courtenay outlined it so vividly in these books.(as I said I was sheltered as a white child)I feel extraordinarily blessed and lucky to have directly avoided the violence and sickness that invaded my country for so long just because I was lucky enough to be born with white skin. I now live in the States but South Africa will always be home. I wept most of the way through both books. I have never been so moved in my life.Mr Courtenay summed up perfectly the collective guilt that white South Africans must carry with them forever more for our people's legacy of hate and brutality and oppression Even if we ourselves are not guilty - our people are guilty.He also, of course, inspires us to believe that one person can make a difference and that sanity,justice and compassion can win in the end even if the fight is long and hard.For those of you who think the characters are too stereotyped- in some aspects you are right. Not all Afrikaaners are the evil, racist villains that are portrayed in the books . However, I certainly encountered people growing up with unbelievable racism, fear and hate who do match some of the characters in the book.So there is truth to his characters also. I have no doubt that the brutality was accurate. One only has to look at historical events in SA history to confirm that. Thank you Mr Courtenay for your wonderful gift and for sharing it with the world. As for the movie: I must admit it has been years since I happened upon it on television late at night. I do remember being quite swept up in the film but then being disappointed with the direction they chose to take it in. A Hollywood ending on what could have been a remarkable African movie.I do understand that film is a completely different medium and changes were necessary to adapt the book to film. Still I cannot help being disappointed with some of the changes that I deemed uneccessary such as the changing of Peekay's name from the wonderful, mystical"The Tadpole Angel" or "onoshobishobi ingelosi" to "The rainmaker" Come on! That's lame! The rainmaker?!That has none of the same feeling the other names invoke.The addition of the girlfriend just to give Peekay a love interest is unnecessary fluff and her character not well developed enough to warrant such an addition.Nonetheless, the film is still worth seeing. I must say that I truly do hope that someone else re-makes this and does a better job.Tandia would make a fantastic film also. I am going to buy a copy on DVD and re-watch it and the post my thoughts here after refreshing it in my mind. I highly recommend reading both The Power Of One and Tandia to all interested in the history of apartheid in South Africa or just those looking for a good drama and a fascinating stories with strong characters.Even if you hate to read and are intimidated by the thought of reading such large books- just start- I guarantee you, you won't be able to put both these books down!If you haven't seen the film or read the books, I guess you should watch the film first. Otherwise you will be sorely disappointed and outraged at all the negative changes and you won't be able to truly enjoy the film for what it is: a nice attempt at an adaptation of a marvellous book.
Reviewed by aquarius87sr 8 / 10

Excellent book, good movie.

Contains Spoilers Well I had seen the Power of One when I was quite little and I remember really enjoying it. Now a few years later, I have read the book and I was extremley disappointed with the changes they made in the movie. First off Peekay has no love interest. Also his mother does not die and Peekay does not stand for Peter something something or whatever it was. In the book it has a special meaning and the film failed to highlight this. He also does not gain the scholarship to Oxford. The film failed to portray Peekay they way the book intended him to be. Since peekay was around 6 he has dreamed of being the welterweight champion of the world. The film totaly missed this out. It missed out alot of the things that happened to him during his upbringing which molded his charcter. Of course the film could not include all of these but I felt they missed out a few of the important ones.However, I did give this film a 8 out of 10. If we take away the book, the film is great. The actors are superb and it moves along at a good speed. Dorff and Freeman are excellent.
Read more IMDb reviews

4 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment