Rating: 
Summary: One of my fav's
Review: The story line of this movie was altered greatly from that of the book, but it's captured the essence of Courtenay's original work, which is truly a masterpiece. This is the story of Peekay- a young English boy born in South Africa that grew up witnessing, first hand, the rise of apartheid. While strengthening his mind with the help of a German Proffesor and his heart with that of a Zulu prisoner, Peekay helps in the fight to bring equality to a crumbling nation. And that there truly lies power in each individual to shape and change an unjust world. A great movie with fantastic music. Really quite moving.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful Movie
Review: I saw this recently as part of my school study of aspects of the apartheid in South Africa. The movie helped make these events very real. The movie revolves around PK, an orphan growing up in the World War II era. He goes from place to place, sometimes hated, sometimes loved. But it is in a harsh labor prison where he learns he can make a difference to the Natives there. He is given the name "Rainmaker" and is told that he can unite the different tribes in the prison. From there, hope, tragedy, and hardships follow, depicting the frightening times the movie takes place in.The technical aspects of the movie are excellent. Beautiful music, great acxting, and a wonderful story. It's inspiring, yet not too fluffy or cutesy. On the contrary, most of it depicts the violence people used against those opposed to the law and separation of races. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Opening the minds of University Students
Review: I have used this movie in my Sociology 101 courses for 6 straight semesters now. The vast majority of my students have loved it. It is an excellent way to present the History of S. Africa, Ethnocentrism, Racism, Sexism, class discrimination, Androgyny, The Contact Hypothesis, the myth of a great white savior, and a lot of other sociological and literary ideas... in an entertaining, dramatic story.
I would have given it 5 stars but for 3 or 4 problems: 1)PK has no faults and hence is less credible than he could be; 2)the best part of the movie is the middle part around the concert- so it is a bit anticlimatic; 3)the idea of an excellent boxer is at odds with being an excellent piano player; 4)Maria is cast by a relatively plain girl which is at odds with the incredible good looks and status of PK; 5)It doesn't adequately convey the justification for the Arikaneers hatred of the English.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but flawed
Review: Bryce Courtenay must have not been paying attention when he sold the movie rights to his awsome book by the same name. The Power of One is about the flame of independence that burns in each of us that must never be allowed to go out. In the book, it has been bastardized to mean the power that many people have if they are united in purpose. Don't get me wrong; the movie is still pretty good, with amazing acting, a compelling story, vivid African landscape, and of course Hans Zimmer's music. The first time I saw it, I would have rated it five stars...right up until I read the book. The movie simply can't hold a candle to the book. Half of the movie is constructed around literally one paragraph of the book. It creates characters (including the love interest) out of thin air, while leaving out characters that made Peekay into who he was. Another reviewer wrote that Peekay was colorblind. Far from it. Peekay knew and understood prejudice from his earliest days, but also understood that prejudice was not limited to color. Zulu looked down on Shangaan; Afrikaner hated English. The overwhelming theme is not racism so much as tribalism. Were they Afrikaners, English, Zulu, etc., or were they South Africans? In the book, Peekay constantly has to balance who he is as an individual with who he is in relationship to society. He MUST maintain his own flame, yet he must also live in society. A far better concept than movie. After all, the perpetrators of apartheid had just as much "Power of One" as the heroes of the movie. So watch the movie, then read the book, and if you're like my wife who was afraid of the book because of the way the movie ends, don't worry; the movie never happens in the book.
Rating:
Summary: A review - The Power Of one
Review: The Power Of One is the beutiful story of a young English boy that is growing up in South Africa in the time of predudice and hate which we know as aparthied, The story follows his life and illustrates this young boys passion and sense of justice it is not just a simple story about boxing!!!!, This story influences the viewer on many levels....The movie is great....HOWEVER if you even remotely enjoyed the film...you will LOVE the novel. The movie leaves out many important factors that the novel foccusses on, The novel speaks of the events that drive Peekay to fight for justice in South Africa and highlights the many important relationships that Peekay encounters through Life. If you've read the book and are planning to watch the film plan to be dissapointed it lacks depth and meaning compared to the novel, Howevre if you're watching the movie and have not read the novel prepared to be delighted by the poignant story of the power of one, that is full of meaninf and important themes (it just doesn't touch the surface of the books, but I think this is because only the reader can create the passion and feel the connection with the characters in their own mind....
Rating:
Summary: A very powerful movie
Review: Even today, the world is still seeing racism and hate. No matter how hard we try, the world will never see peace. This movie right here is a prime example of just how corrupt the world was back then. 'Power of One' focusses on a young boy named Peekay (shortened to P.K.) who grew up with a mother, no father (he died before Peekay was born) and a black guardian. Around about the age of 8, P.K. is sent to a boarding school, specially made for Afrikaaners (white people who hate blacks and English). Here P.K's life begins to get twisted into a whole mess. It takes us then to when P.K. grows up into the age around about 12-14 years of age where his mother dies and his guardian. Here he practices boxing and soon becomes a living legend as he grows up. It is at age 18 that he meets his true love who is a German girl and is forbidden to see any English boys. But as these two push the limits even further, it turns into death. Peekay loses his true loved one and decides to move to England to go to Oxford University. He meets up with his childhood friend who cause trouble when the blacks have like a secret party. He also meets his number #1 rival, who went to the same boarding school as he did, and starts to kill every black person because the army is after Peekay. The Power of One is truly a powerful and great movie and it was great to see that the director of 'Rocky' directed this movie. The acting is well done and it explains the story very well. Many people started to hate this movie because it was so much different from the book but I guarantee, even if I do read the book I would still like the movie. I don't really care about how they changed the book, I like this movie because I don't like racism and this was a touching movie. Even some scenes in this movie made tears falling from my eyes but just shows how much power this movie has. The world will never see peace and that's something we all have to agree on because there are some people living in this world today who don't see eye to eye with other races but we can make a change to the world. Peekay changed the world by teaching the blacks how to read. We can change the world by respecting each other, though some won't. It's not a major change but it's a good start. I'm totally against racism and one day I hope to make a little change to the world.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous, Stirring Film
Review: Not what you'd expect from the director of "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid", two well done but rather shallow 'fighting' movies. While part of this movie does have to do with boxing, it is just a vehicle to better show the audience deep character changes happening inside the heart and mind of the lead character, P.K. (called Peekay in the book, apparantly, although I never read it). The director deserved any awards that were lying about when he made this film! The story is about a small British boy, P.K., who is orphaned at a young age and lives in an all-Afrikaans boarding school. He is harrassed and beaten, and eventually comes under the tutilage of 'Doc', an eccentric and wise old man from Germany. When Doc is taken to prison, he is treated exceptionally well, and introduces P.K. to Piet, a black inmate who teaches the small boy to box. In this way P.K. grows up, witnessing tragic and terrible happenings around him as well as triumph as he outrgrows his thin, scared figure and becomes a muscular, self-confident and strong-willed man. The film follows him as he grows as a human being, striving to change his world and live life to its fullest. The story is one without flaws, and although is a bit unbelievable (I don't think this is a true story; however, it very well might be) it is very convincing. The preformances are exellent, the best of which is definitely from Stephen Dorff, who plays P.K. His accent is wonderful considering I'm almost sure he's American. Mueller-Stahl as Doc is obviously spectacular, as always, and the acting of Morgan Freeman, who plays Piet... well, I needn't say more! The story is deeply stirring, sending literal chills down my spine as I watched. While the flakish, yet spunky, character of Maria (P.K.'s sheltered love interest who matures more with him then I think she would have otherwise in her entire lifetime) is played well, her character seems to be there simply to add a love story to an already fabulous film. The romance is quite touching, however, and is a nice distraction from the chaos of P.K.'s world. A film not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: If you haven't read the book. . .
Review: this is an entertaining film. I'd recommend it for people looking for a "overcoming adversity" story. It's better for younger students than the book would be, too, since the violence is toned down. Like most books made into movies, however, this film is so different from the book that they are almost two stories with the same title set in South Africa. I like using the movie when I teach the book, only because students are so unhappy with the movie and we can select the book scenes that SHOULD have been filmed instead.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful story!
Review: This is one of the best movies ever made on racial issues. I have loved this story of the struggle of the native south african since I was a little girl. It truly is uplifting and gripping. It is an encouraging movie where the antagonist PK (spelled Peekay in the book) sets an excellent example about the need to fight racial/ethnic oppresion, his example is one that more people should follow.
Rating:
Summary: The truth about our movies today
Review: If I had never seen this touching movie many years ago, I would have never sought out the book today. The book is rich and inspiring, but yet, it was the movie that inspired me to find the book. Such is the way of our literary pursuits these days. Tolkien has never has so many fans as Peter Jackson brought his way today. Let's enjoy what our films have to offer and savor the literary works behind them for their own special value. Both the book and the movie are worthwhile pursuits. And I must mention that I use the soundtrack in my classes as well.
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