The Power of One (film)
| The Power of One | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
| Produced by | Arnon Milchan |
| Screenplay by | Robert Mark Kamen |
| Based on | The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | Dean Semler |
| Edited by | John G. Avildsen |
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Production
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| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Roadshow Entertainment (Australia & New Zealand) |
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Release date
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Running time
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127 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $2,827,107 |
The Power of One is a 1992 American drama film based on Bryce Courtenay's 1989 novel of the same name. Set in South Africa during World War II, the film centers on the life of Peter Philip 'Peekay or PK' Kenneth-Keith, a South African boy raised under apartheid, and his conflicted relationships with a German pianist, a Coloured boxing coach and an Afrikaner romantic interest. Directed and edited by John G. Avildsen, the film stars Stephen Dorff, John Gielgud, Morgan Freeman, Armin Mueller-Stahl and featured (a then-unknown) Daniel Craig in his film debut. This film captures a true essence of the difficulties encountered by the native Africans and the appalling treatment of them during this time.
Born in 1930 to a recently widowed Englishwoman on a homestead in rural Natal, little Peter Philip (Guy Witcher) is schooled in the ways of England by his mother and the ways of Africa by a Zulu nanny (Nomadlozi Kubheka), whose son Tonderai is also his best friend. Their easy life is forever shattered, however, when the farm's cattle are claimed by rinderpest. PK's mother succumbs to a nervous breakdown, and he is sent away to a conservative Afrikaans boarding school while she recovers.
Being the only English speaker, PK soon earns almost universal contempt from his scathing Afrikaner fellows—particularly an older student, Jaapie Botha. Botha's abuse and the inferiority complex which results strikes PK with a severe case of nocturnal enuresis, a habit which he eventually overcomes with local sangoma Dabula Manzi. In conquering his nightmares, PK is given a chicken (Mother Courage), which becomes his closest companion. Botha subsequently captures PK and Mother Courage and has them tried before a mock court while elaborating on the depth of his hatred for the British—a people he holds responsible for atrocities committed during the Second Boer War. The Afrikaans boys hang Mother Courage and kill her with a rock, but their attempts to kill PK in a similar manner are interrupted by a teacher who later oversees Botha's expulsion.
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Wikipedia