Power of One, The

Based on the novel by Bryce Courtenay and set against the racial strife of 1930s South Africa, THE POWER OF ONE is a spirited tale of a young boy's fight against oppression starring Stephen Dorff as P.K., a lonely English orphan who is forced to endure racial hatred at an exclusive Afrikaaner boarding school. Perpetually the outsider, he is constantly tormented by his British-bashing classmates. With the onset of WWII, P.K. is taken in by Doc (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a liberal German scientist, and becomes his ward while incarcerated in a political prison. In prison, he meets Geel Piet (Morgan Freeman), a strong African boxer who teaches him the power of African myth, dialect, and the fine art of boxing. Armed with motivation and a new way to defend his beliefs, P.K. is able to start over at a more liberal high school, where he grows into a young man tempered by the racism and violence surrounding him. P.K.'s battle for personal and political freedom becomes a quest for racial equality and respect. He goes against convention and, with an African friend, ventures into the segregated townships to teach reading. Ultimately, P.K.'s actions leave his schoolmates irate--forcing him to enter the ring to fight for freedom.