Review: The Power of One

Set in South Africa during the 30s and 40s, this is the story of orphaned P.K. (played as an adult by Stephen Dorff) picked on by the other boys at boarding school for being an English South African amidst a bunch of Nationalistic Afrikaners. He is mentored through life by three people; German pacifist Doc (Armin Mueller-Stahl) who teaches him about life and plants. Geel Pete (Morgan Freeman) a black slave who teaches P.K. how to box, which will lead P.K. to become a driving force for an attempt at social change among the races in South Africa. Finally there is the Headmaster (Sir John Gielgud), the chief academic influence in P.K.’s life, and the inspiration for P.K. to teach literacy to blacks (which is illegal at the time). Fay Masterson plays the daughter of the Afrikaner Nationalist President, whom P.K. romances, to her father’s obvious disapproval. Daniel Craig plays a childhood tormentor of P.K.’s, grown up.

 

Let’s forget about Bryce Courtenay’s novel and whether this 1992 film is inferior to it or not, just for a second. At the end of the day, this adaptation from director John G. Avildsen (“Rocky”, “The Karate Kid”) and writer Robert Mark Kamen (“The Karate Kid”, the underrated boxing movie “Gladiator”) is a powerful and well-made film in its own right bolstered by several excellent performances. There’s something for everyone here; apartheid story, Nazis, Rudyard Kipling vibes, boxing movie- all in one. And I don’t think the boxing aspect trivialises a damn thing. This is just one (fictionalised) account of this time and place in history, and at the very least it’s a great film for high school students to be introduced to some of this stuff (indeed, that’s when I first encountered it), and maybe they’ll then go and read the book too.

 

I think the fact that this was made by the “Rocky” and “Karate Kid” guy got up some people’s noses, and they had a bias against it from the get go, because the boxing really isn’t that much of a big deal in the film (and I believe it’s a part of the book anyway). If the rivalry between Stephen Dorff and Daniel Craig culminated in a boxing match, then it might border on being offensive or at least corny. But that does not happen here, because it’s not a damn boxing movie. It’s really a coming of age film, a rock-solid account of one boy’s journey into adulthood as he comes out the other side of some really troubling personal/geopolitical circumstances.

 

Stephen Dorff never quite happened as an actor/movie star, did he? I’m not quite sure why that is, but he’s effective here in the lead. His Seth Effriken accent, by the way, is spot-on to my Australian ears. He’s certainly a more talented actor than his contemporaries like Ethan Hawke and Keanu Reeves. Fay Masterson isn’t nearly as effective as his wan love interest, but her Seth Effriken accent is certainly fine.

 

But this film really gets a boost from its trio of elder statesmen; Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman, and Sir John Gielgud. It’s a little disconcerting at first to see Mueller-Stahl playing a kindly pacifist, but he’s more than capable of it. Morgan Freeman, meanwhile, is so good you almost forget he’s playing an African Mr. Miyagi. If you ask me, he deserved an Oscar for his work here, it’s one of his best performances. As for Sir John, he is quite simply one of the greatest actors to have ever lived, and any film with his presence is very, very lucky to have been so blessed.

 

Not everything here comes up roses, however. I found the tactic of having a child narrate the film at first before moving on to Dorff’s narration far too gimmicky and distracting without the merit to excuse it. I also think the African coffee commercial soundtrack was a bit twee. I felt like I was watching “The Lion King” somewhat, and a little of it went a long, long way.

 

This is a strong, well-acted, and unpleasant film, with a rushed ending that hurts it a tad. But the performances from an excellent cast and some compelling themes combine to make this somewhat underrated in my view.

 

Rating: B