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The Power of One

The Power of One

Drama · 1992

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.

Movie details

The Power of One

“An exhilarating epic of a triumph of the heart.”

1992 Drama 2h 7m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Power of One?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John G. Avildsen

Written by

Robert Mark Kamen

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman

Geel Piet

Stephen Dorff

Stephen Dorff

P.K. Age 18

Simon Fenton

Simon Fenton

P.K. Age 12

Guy Witcher

Guy Witcher

P.K. Age 7

Armin Mueller-Stahl

Armin Mueller-Stahl

Doc

Alois Moyo

Alois Moyo

Gideon Duma

Marius Weyers

Marius Weyers

Prof. Daniel Marais

Court is in session

Put The Power of One on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.