Fresh
Beautifully produced and gorgeously shot on location in Zimbabwe by lenser Dean Semler, picture has depth, dimension and first-rate casting.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Power of One
An exhilarating epic of a triumph of the heart.
1992 · 2h 7m · PG-13
Drama
Directed by
John G. Avildsen
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
The Power of One
Overview
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 and cast
- John G. Avildsen Director
- Morgan Freeman as Geel Piet
- Stephen Dorff as P.K. Age 18
- Simon Fenton as P.K. Age 12
- Guy Witcher as P.K. Age 7
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Doc
- Alois Moyo as Gideon Duma
- Marius Weyers as Prof. Daniel Marais
- Ian Roberts as Hoppie Gruenewald
- Fay Masterson as Maria
- Winston Ntshona as Mlungisi
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
39%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Avildsen draws good performances from the three actors who play PK, as well as from the ever-reliable Freeman and Muller-Stahl, but subtlety is abandoned when he focuses on the ring and teen romance.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Rotten
The film's facile treatment of racial issues may be enough to bring back the practice of throwing tomatoes at the screen.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rotten
A violent cartoon that trivializes apartheid. If there's any justice, the birds of loneliness will be circling the box office.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Rotten
It's resounding bunk, candied over with the lush music of Johnny Clegg and hyped to death by director John ("Rocky") Avildsen.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
More films
Skin (2009)
Drama · PG-13
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
- Runtime
- 1h 47m
- Director
- Anthony Fabian
- Cast
- Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, Alice Krige
IMDb
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes
85%
Metacritic
62
The Hurricane (1999)
Drama · R
The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
- Runtime
- 2h 26m
- Director
- Norman Jewison
- Cast
- Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger
IMDb
7.6
Rotten Tomatoes
82%
Metacritic
74
Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
Drama · PG-13
Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his re...
- Runtime
- 1h 52m
- Director
- Rod Lurie
- Cast
- Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Alan Alda
IMDb
6.7
Rotten Tomatoes
60%
Metacritic
55
Creed III (2023)
Action · Drama · PG-13
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed has thrived in his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian Anderson, resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To ...
- Runtime
- 1h 56m
- Cast
- Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors
IMDb
6.7
Rotten Tomatoes
89%
Metacritic
73
A United Kingdom (2016)
Drama · History · PG-13
The inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Seretse and Ruth defied family, Apartheid and empire - their love triumphed over every ...
- Runtime
- 1h 51m
- Cast
- David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton
IMDb
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes
83%
Metacritic
65
The Four Robinsons (1939)
Comedy · N/A
Four friends pretend a cruise to escape their wives and go clubbing, but they are forced to go through face-saving shipwreck, becoming castaways.
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Eduardo García Maroto
- Cast
- Antonio Vico, Mary Santpere, Fernando Rey
IMDb
5.8
La mantilla de Beatriz (1946)
Drama · Romance · N/A
In XVII century Portugal two friends change identities so one of them can escape an unwanted marriage to Beatriz.
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Director
- Eduardo García Maroto
- Cast
- Virgílio Teixeira, Margarita Andrey, María Isbert
Comments
Talk about the film with other members