Well, as far as the "unChristian" debate; it's pointless. History is history. Exploiting people and land is an activity of all religions (except the ones that emphasize spirit and not structure...like Buddism). So, Hawaii depicts the essence of what happened in Hawaii, like it or not.
My question is, why on earth did they cast Julie Andrews to play Jerusala? I know she was popular at the time, but was completely inappropriate for the part, beginning with the English accent. She is a lightweight actress, as sexually appealing as a "very efficient dietitian" (as one reviewer of another film described her). That whaler dude would hardly have pined across time and oceans to win her hand (or most certainly anything else).
I don't have much problem with Max; then again, I haven't seen him in anything else. He appeared to be a wooden actor performing as a wooden man. Unlike Jerusala, I didn't keep expecting him to grab an umbrella, break out in song and skip off a cliff. Believe me, I wish she had.
The Hawaiian cast was excellent. I can't help but feel their talents were wasted, as was the culture they represented in the new order brought by Whites. Those actors made the tale much more believable.
Of course the photography was incredible. Hawaii is incredible. The book was much better, as is always the case in movies, but in my opinion, far too long. Michner liked to hear himself write.
That's about it. This is good escapist stuff, but badly miscast. Alas, they should have learned from My Fair Lady and picked Audrey Hepburn. That would have also been miscasting, but she didn't have the off screen persona that Andrews reportedly has- the ability to cuss like one of those whalers.
And, I am sure the lovely Ms. Hepburn, being a truly fine actress, would have made us regret her character's passing. Instead, when that sad moment came (or, actually, didn't come- they skipped over that part, probably because it didn't fit either Julie's image or acting ability; they showed her looking kinda tired, then cut to her tombstone), anyway, when I caught on to that quick transition, I breathed my own simple little prayer; "Thank God."
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