The film "The power of one" was released in 1993 and is summarized in this synopsis. It depicts the life of a young boy growing up in South Africa from 1930 to 1948.
The movie commences around 1930, featuring a boy who is merely seven years old and English by nationality. He answers to the name of Peter but commonly known as PK, which was his father's legacy. His father passed away because of an elephant attack, leaving PK and his mother to survive alone. PK grew up alongside black people and never discriminated against them.
PK considers his black nanny and best friend as family to him, even after his father's death when his mother took over the business but struggled to manage it. As a result, PK had to leave for boarding school, despite being scared and hesitant
...to leave his mother. Unfortunately, he was the only English student in a primarily Afrikaans boarding school.
PK was taught in school that Afrikaners were superior to Black and English people, which confused him since his nanny and best friend were Black. He then became a victim of bullying for being English, particularly by a boy named Botha and his gang. They would corner PK and urinate on him, leading to the nickname "piss kopt" derived from PK. The bullying became so severe that he started wetting the bed.
PK went through a series of unfortunate events that resulted in the death of his mother. He went to her funeral and stayed with his nanny, where he received a bracelet from his father that they had given to his mother when they were younger. PK promised to kee
it on forever. However, he eventually had to leave home and go back to boarding school, which caused him great anxiety.
PK was taken by his nanny to a medicine man after he revealed being bullied. The medicine man helped increase PK's courage and conquer his fears, which he did when faced with an elephant charging at him in a vision. As a symbol of protection, the medicine man gave PK a chicken. Nevertheless, upon returning to boarding school, PK found himself once again facing hostility due to the war against Great Britain and the pro-Hitler beliefs of the Afrikaners, who viewed him as English because of his Dutch ancestry.
On a certain day, Botha slaughtered the chicken and attempted to do the same with PK, but it didn't happen as anticipated, sparing PK's life. The plan was for PK to return to his caretaker and best friend, but they were separated. Consequently, PK relocated to a South African English town, where his grandfather resided. Doc, who was a good acquaintance of PK's grandfather, became responsible for PK's care from that point onward.
PK received an education from Doc, fostering a close relationship until PK's imprisonment in a camp due to being English rather than Afrikaner. Despite being German, Doc gained respect from the Afrikaners who assumed he was a Nazi. However, Doc was actually Anti-Nazi but complied with the belief in order to watch over PK. During PK's time in prison, he befriended a black man named Pete who taught him how to box. This led to PK becoming an impressive boxer.
The black people were treated poorly by the Afrikaner guards at the prison camp, with one
guard forcing a black man to eat dirt off of his shoe while calling them derogatory terms such as " Kaffir ". However, PK stood out as a popular figure among the black community for treating them equally and earned the nickname " The rainmaker " for bringing positivity to their lives. As the war drew to a close, Doc would soon have to depart back to Germany.
The black people were instructed by the guards to set up a concert during which they planned on singing in their native tongue. This was done so that they could express truthful lyrics about the guards without fear of being understood. Despite going smoothly, one member, Pete, did not make it to the concert as he was apprehended by a guard who forced him to reveal the meaning behind the performance. Sadly, Pete was subsequently beaten and killed. Following the war's conclusion, a person named PK transitioned to an English School and reached the age of 17.
During the era of Apartheid, PK fell in love with a girl named Maria, whom he spotted in the crowd at a boxing match. Despite her being an Afrikaner, Maria reciprocated his feelings. However, her father, a professor at the school, vehemently opposed their relationship due to his staunch support of Apartheid. Even though PK sought permission from him to see Maria, he was denied. Nevertheless, Maria defied her father's objections and continued to see PK.
After finding out, Maria's father enlists two police officers, one of whom is Botha - her former school bully - to keep an eye on them. When Maria confronts her father and opposes apartheid, he forbids
Maria from seeing PK again, causing her to flee. She seeks out PK and assists him in teaching Black people in a lesson. However, when the two officers arrive at the school, they demand that it be closed down permanently.
After causing chaos and setting PK's boxing club ablaze, they imprison the owner because of his painted image of a black and white man on the shop window. PK confesses his love for Maria and gifts her his late mother's bracelet. The duo then opts to impart their teachings discreetly at the church but are discovered, leading to a brutal assault where Maria tragically loses her life while shielding PK from Botha's attack.
An Afrikaner, who was from her own community, kills her and black people sing at her funeral. PK chooses to reside in a black village, but the authorities search for him as he is held responsible for Maria's demise. During the search for PK, numerous black individuals lose their lives, while he hides in a hut. When Botha is about to murder an innocent black man, PK surrenders himself to the authorities.
Botha and PK engage in a fight which concludes with Botha being shot. Subsequently, PK and his black companion walk off into the sunset with the intention of unifying the world.
