Steve Pulaski The Power of One is something of a different breed for me. I normally don't watch films like these if I do not see them in school. I didn't expect a whole lot, but what I got was definitely a favorable taste. The film depicts what it was like to live in South Africa in the thirties and forties. To put it simplistically, it was hell. It was one of the most crucial punishments of the time to be black and have your home be in South Africa.The plot: PK is an English boy, and after his mother is recovering from several life obstacles he gets sent to a Dutch school. What an unenjoyable and miserable experience for such a young boy as he is victimized and tormented because of the Dutch's extreme hatred towards the English/British because of The Boer War outcome.There are details I'd rather not go into because one of which made me so upset it was unspeakably depressing. This film is one of those films where there isn't anything really wrong with the movie, but it's depressing. If it isn't one thing, it's another. Trust me, I've seen films like that that jump from happy to sad. You become so emotionally rocked you feel you're back at age thirteen undergoing puberty.After that rancid and horrible treatment, we see PK grow older and older till he reaches his teen years becoming a young adult. Along the way he meets Geel Piet (Freeman) who trains him to become a stronger, more physical human being so he can defend himself. PK learns love, loss, and violence as he tries to make a decision rather to stay or go.The Power of One has a few technical errors I'd like to point out. One, at the very end the green screen job becomes (a) very fake and (b) the human characters find themselves stuck in the mud. You'll see. The other is that PK's hair color changes frequently throughout the film. This could be his attempts to blend in, but it's never discussed in the film.The score to the film was real well composed by Hans Zimmer (The Simpsons). And there are some scenes in the film I'd like to watch again. The Power of One isn't perfect and a bit uneasy maybe for younger viewers, but it is still a solid movie about the honorable PK and the hell he was going through during the thirties and forties.Starring: Stephen Dorff, Morgan Freeman, Daniel Craig, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and John Gielgud. Directed by: John G. Avildsen.

shneur There's always a problem with casting for a film that spans childhood, unless one has a spare Culkin handy to play the younger protagonist. In this case the transitions seemed especially jarring -- not so much the looks, but mannerisms and general temperament -- as though one character had left and been replaced by another. This was not present in the novel, where in fact emphasis was placed on the continuity of person, and the roots of "P.K's" extraordinary achievements in his painful childhood experiences and losses. This is a story about the initiation of official government apartheid in South Africa in 1948, about its brutality, and about the beginnings of the insouciant individuals who would eventually overthrow it at the end of the century. That's an unusual angle from which to view this particular stain on human history. While the personal details and character development so important in the book are largely absent from the movie, its historical and geopolitical purpose is served, and I believe that makes this film worth watching.

ryno_lv I think the movie is wonderfully presented and tells the story of one man raised in a hateful world first at his expense then at the expense of others. Through the story he overcomes triumph of his his own and others to become the man that he his. The personnel tragedy he endears and to have him overcome them is what i like to see in this kind of inspirational film. I have not read the book but the comments have made me want to. I seen the movie when it first came out and have thought about the message since then. To have a movie that explains the racial differences and social differences in this day and age is remarkable. I give this movie a nine for the message it delivers alone.

roughriders23 I expected a lot from this film but it just did not live up to my expectations. I remember Morgan Freeman once said that he was disappointed with the final cut. He was expecting much more because the screenplay/script was very strong. N one here gets the blame except for the director. He has a classic script in his hand but he goofed up. The movie gets tiring and boring at many stages. One wishes that there were more screen time for Freeman who shows that the lenght of the role does not matter. He had a terrific role and put in an nomination worthy performance. Gil Piet was my favorite character in this film so it was hard for me to see him exit the movie so far. I just wished that the director could have focused more on PK's childhood, because when the movie covers his adult years it slows down. Overall, it has some powerful scenes with good performances. But if there was a better director on board the movie would have turned out to be a classic.