Amita RajGuru, Post 1

The Power of One, 1992, John Avildsen

An exhilarating epic of a triumph of the heart. Directed by John Avildsen, The Power of One opens with a series of establishing shots that slowly pan around the interior and exterior of the PK’s home, the protagonist. This is accompanied by a voiceover including descriptions of PK’s family and life, which gives the movie a personal, home-movie feel. 

When the viewer sees PK being born and breastfed, a few moving shots are used to focus attention and make the clear distinction that the young voice heard is that of the newborn. The first 15 minutes have more transitions between scenes than the rest of the movie, and are slow fade transitions – this gives the story a more nostalgic feel, like the main character is recalling a memory. 

As the film progresses, especially after PK’s mother dies, more straight jump cuts are used. It’s interesting to note that for almost all the beginning shots that involve zooming, the camera starts in a close-up shot and gradually pulls back to reveal either a medium or full shot. This creates more intimacy with the scene because the viewer understands a small part of the scene before seeing how it fits in with the actions of others. An exception to this, however, is during the funeral of PK’s mother: starting as a full shot, the camera eventually shifts to a close-up of PK, which creates a deeper sense of pity in the viewer. 

During the beginning portion of the movie, there are few over-the-shoulder shots, but when they do happen the character’s shoulder is often too close to the camera and is completely out of focus – it would almost be better if it wasn’t in the shot because it’s a little distracting. For example, this occurs in the scene where PK is surrouned by boys advocating Hitler’s racism. Most of the shots of their “ring leader” are over-the-shoulder.

The main bulk of the movie is filled with a series of predictable shots, ranging from long shots to medium shots – not many close-ups – but lots of jump cuts between scenic pan shots. Most of the medium shots are either shot at a low or high angle... it’s unusual to find one that’s straight on. This gives the viewer a slightly more interesting angle to look at the scene, but feels unnatural and like the camera should be from one of the characters’ perspectives but isn’t quite there. There are many examples of this, such as when a more mature PK is talking to Doc, the camera angle changes from high (while framing PK) to low (while framing Doc). 

One of the most interesting scenes uses a combination of two types of shot: a triple shot and over-the-shoulder shot. An example of this in action is when PK speaks with Maria and another boy. The scene is shot from over the shoulder of both the boy and Maria, and focuses on PK on the right hand side of the screen. It’s interesting because three people are in the relatively intimate shot, while not getting too intimate – it still adheres to the “three’s a crowd” idea.

Full shots are used frequently in the movie to both situate the characters and create a sense of intimacy between/among them because the action or conversation is concentrated in one corner of the shot. For example, when PK is alone in the wilderness with Maria, they sit around a fire that only lights them and keeps the rest of the frame relatively dark – focusing attention on them.

The end of the movie is much like the beginning... more over the shoulder shots are used and in most of the full shots, only the background is in focus. Towards the end, there are more frequent cuts between shots to create tension and speed. For example, when policemen start shooting at civilians, the camera cuts back and forth between the policemen and the civilians and PK trying to avoid the whole fiasco.

Ending on a rather cliché note, the movie ends with a full shot that gradually widens as the viewer sees the two men’s silhouettes as they walk off into the sunset. This mirrors the beginning of the movie and, as the short epilogue in writing comes up on the screen, it demonstrates how the film has come full circle in the plot – a clean and simple ending.