.

The Power of One

Nigel Ivy

Directed by John G. Avildsen
Rolling Stone: star rating
5 0
Community: star rating
5 0 0
April 22, 1992

PK, a British orphan in South Africa, is played by three actors: Guy Witcher at seven, Simon Fenton at twelve and hunk du jour Stephen Dorff at eighteen. "The loneliness birds are coming," says PK whenever bad times come, which is regularly. The Afrikaners have been beating up on PK since boarding school. During World War II, PK is befriended by Doc (Armin Mueller-Stahl), an educated German, and Geel Piet (Morgan Freeman), a prison inmate who teaches him to box. PK is a Karate Kid with two Mr. Miyagis. The film is what you might expect from Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote the three Kid movies, and John Avildsen, who directed all three Kids and two Rockys: a violent cartoon that trivializes apartheid. If there's any justice, the birds of loneliness will be circling the box office.

prev
Movie Review Main Next

ADD A COMMENT

Community Guidelines »
loading comments

loading comments...

COMMENTS

Sort by:
    Read More

    Movie Reviews

    More Reviews »
    Daily Newsletter

    Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

    Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
    marketing partners.

    X

    We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

    Song Stories

    “The A Team”

    Ed Sheeran | 2011

    This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

    More Song Stories entries »