Princess Kaiulani (2009) User Reviews (21)

Well-intentioned 'Princess Kaiulani' is mostly by-the-numbers.

[d_art · 7/10 · 19 May 2010]

Q'Orianka Kilcher plays Princess Kaiulani, in a true story about one of the last heirs to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The film follows Kailulani's life, starting with her early, happy life in Honolulu, then, her education at Victorian England after the imposition of the Bayonet Constitution, which stripped Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority. When Hawaii is soon overthrown, she returns to Hawaii in her campaign to convince the U.S. to reverse the overthrow.

This adaptation of Princess Kaiulani's life probably should've been quite good. It is a fascinating part of Hawaiian history that many are unfamiliar with. It was unfortunate, therefore, that the film spent much of its time on the less historical, but more mundane aspects of Princess Kaiulani's life.

Q'Orianka Kilcher's performance brings a relatable, somewhat spunky, every-girl aspect to her princess character. With that said, the script, sadly, doesn't fully flesh her out as I hoped. Many scenes in her life feel just tacked on to evoke sympathy, but no real texture or subtlety. For example, all the scenes with her prized seashell collection, which one would think will play a big part later, isn't really brought up again to any real significance. The supporting characters don't fair any better. Kaiulani's close friend Alice (Tamzin Merchant) is two-dimensional, and is allowed only to look deeply concerned and appears merely to suit Kaiulani's needs in the plot. I had no idea what benefit Alice gets from being Kaiulani's friend. Miss Barnes (Catherine Steadman), one of the heads of the school, comes off as just a generic, mean lady that audiences can hiss at. Kaiulani's initial relationship with one of the servant boys, which appeared significant at first, doesn't turn into anything beyond a small scene later. Admittedly, Jimmy Yuill is memorable as Kaiulani's Scottish father, Archie, who appears to be Kaiulani's biggest supporter and perhaps the biggest motivator for her to want to help her people. I also liked all the scenes involving King Kalakaua (Ocean Kaowili), a charismatic and somewhat tragic character, certainly.

I felt too much time was spent on Kaiulani and Clive's (Shaun Evans) romance, which felt generic, if not unnatural, given the fact that they were supposed to dislike each other. I must've seen this scene many times--the girl accidentally falls on the guy from the bicycle, both tumble onto the grass, and they fall in love with picturesque green hills in the background. In contrast, the kissing scenes are rather sensuous, even if the romance is on the bland side. However, things do get more interesting when Kaiulani has to pick between the plights of her people and a possible marriage to Clive.

The film shines when the subject of politics is involved. A dinner conversation scene with Kaiulani and President Cleveland (Peter Banks) using food as a way to talk politics is clever and effective. A scene where Kaiulani gives her first speech shows that she does have her flaws, and allows us to really root for her character. There's also a war scene that bring a bit of harsh reality to the situation in Hawaii. All the scenes that relate to history are the best scenes. In addition, the period sets and costumes are excellent in this film and really bring out the Victorian time period. It would've been nice to see more on how a Hawaiian monarchy functions, but what is shown is still interesting.

Despite initial pacing issues, the film picks up as we get to know Kaiulani as her people know her today—a shrewd politician. Where did she develop this skill? Somewhere during her Victorian England education, I think (although we never saw her study). Princess Kaiulani certainly is a great subject for a film. This film did make me want to know more about her, the politics of the time, and the general history of Hawaii. Perhaps that was the intention. If one were to look her up on Wikipedia, one will find many significant events in her life that were not in this film, which would've been great to see. Perhaps we'll see a film like that one day. As it is, this film is still a good light intro to a fascinating individual. ** ½ out of **** stars.

You can follow my reviews on http://twitter.com/d_art

Run-of-the-Mill Biopic

[JamesHitchcock · 5/10 · 1 August 2014]

This film tells the story of Victoria Cleghorn, aka Princess Ka'iulani, the last heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was the daughter of a Scottish financier and a Hawaiian princess, and became heiress presumptive to the throne on the death of her uncle King Kalākaua. She never, however, inherited the crown because her aunt, Queen Liliuokalani, provoked the wrath of the kingdom's white minority by attempting to reverse the Bayonet Constitution, which concentrated power in the hands of that minority, and to restore the rights of the native Hawaiians.

This led to the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893, and the country's subsequent annexation by the USA, one of the murkier episodes in American history and one which still sometimes causes modern Americans to have a guilty conscience. Admittedly, their treatment of the Hawaiians was no more ruthless than their treatment of various Native American peoples over the previous hundred years or so, but they could always justify their behaviour on the mainland by reference to the "manifest destiny" ideology. Supporting the overthrow of an internationally recognised sovereign government by a racist clique of white businessmen and then annexing the country at the behest of that clique was a bit too close for comfort to the European-style imperialism which many nineteenth-century Americans affected to deplore.

The film tells Kaʻiulani's story from a viewpoint sympathetic to her and to the Hawaiian cause, but was nevertheless controversial in Hawaii, particularly among native Hawaiians. Part of the reason was its original title "Barbarian Princess", which was deemed particularly offensive, even though it was intended in an ironic way to highlight 19th-century American and European prejudices. Also controversial was the fact that the Princess was not played by a Hawaiian actress; Q'orianka Kilcher is of mixed native Peruvian and European descent and (pace Thor Heyerdahl's eccentric theories to the contrary) the Hawaiians and other Polynesian peoples are not Native Americans but originated in Asia. Q'orianka may, however, have won the role because, to judge from photographs, she bears a certain physical resemblance to Kaʻiulani, despite their different ethnic origins.

"Princess Kaʻiulani" is notable as a rare example of a movie which defies normal Hollywood conventions by making the Americans the bad guys and a group of foreigners the good guys; the principal villain is Lorrin Thurston, one of the organisers of the coup which overthrew Liliuokalani and depicted here as an arrogant white racist who despised the Hawaiian people. That apart, however, there is little else which makes the movie stand out from the ordinary. Much of the plot is given over to Kaʻiulani's supposed love affair with a handsome young Englishman named Clive and, apart from being totally fictitious, this development is of little interest compared to the dramatic events which were unfolding in the princess's homeland. None of the acting contributions stand out and, despite its potentially interesting subject, the film rarely rises above the level of a run-of-the-mill biopic.

The film ends with by noting that in 1993, one hundred years after the overthrow of Liliuokalani, President Clinton and the United States Congress apologised to the Hawaiian people for America's role in these events, although they did not, of course, follow up their apology by recognising that the annexation had been illegal under international law and that it was therefore incumbent upon America to restore the independence of Hawaii. Bill Clinton must be kicking himself about that missed opportunity. With one stroke of his pen he could have turned the Hawaii-born Barack Obama into a foreign national, Hillary could have gone on to win the 2008 election and Bill could be back in the White House as America's first First Gentleman. 5/10

Not even a hemi-semi-demi-barbarian

[sleeping_gorilla · 5/10 · 29 May 2012]

I thought the movie was very interesting with strong performances but poor editing. Events often seem to occur out of order and there is some scenes where she just sitting on the beach thinking. One very good directing choice was that rather than force feeding us historical information we found out the fate of Hawai'i as Kaiulani does. There really are many great cinematic moments here, but it comes off as a mish-mash.

I believe "Barbarian Princess" would have been a much better title, as that's how US papers referred to Ka'iulani, and she was anything but.

I can't speak on the movie's accuracy, but the events are fascinating and this movie makes me want to learn more about Ka'iulani and the Kingdom of Hawai'i.

This gets a higher rating from me due to it's unique subject and the performance of the lead actress.

The wayward princess

[cshiira-681-591495 · 22 May 2010]

Burt Lancaster was not an Indian, but the English/Irish actor played a Potawatomi in Max Steiner's "Jim Thorpe: All-American" and one of Geronimo's tribesman in Robert Aldrich's "Apache". Paul Muni had no Chinese blood. Susan Kohner had no black blood. Marlon Brando had no Okinawan blood. In retrospect, now that the cinema is well-represented by all walks of life, such racial performances, however well-meaning, instantly dates the film. Blood is important, but it doesn't necessarily have to make or break the movie if the filmmaker employs red-face(or black-face, or yellow-face) simply as a means to an end(the productions of "The Good Earth", "Imitation of Life", and "The Teahouse of the August Moon" would not have been mad without the prevailing film industry's political incorrect casting practices), in which the masquerading actors aren't consciously foregrounding their appropriated ethnic impersonation through grotesque minstrelism(for starters, Mickey Rooney's take on the Japanese in Blake Edwards' "Breakfast at Tiffany's"). Nowadays, if a minority race gets misrepresented, it's less a matter of outright racism, but rather, a marketability concern, which is best exemplified by the casting of non-Japanese actresses Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh in "Memoirs of a Geisha". Likewise, "Princess Kaiulani", a sugar-coated chronicling of the Hawaiian royal who, due to American intervention, was denied the chance to rule her island nation, would never have been financed with a "Hapa"(a Hawaiian with Caucasian blood). It's a knee-jerk reaction to call this film racist, because the overriding flaw of "Princess Kaiulani" has nothing to do with Q'orianka Kilcher's Peruvian/Spanish background; it's the performance that the filmmaker coaxes out of her, which doesn't clearly delineate a resolute anti-colonization stance. That's because the star of Terrence Malick's "The New World", as Kaiulani, behaves more like her oppressors, than the native Hawaiians she professes to love.

By all accounts, Princess Kaiulani was not a coward, so the historical inaccuracy of a colonialist-led insurgency(during a lighting ceremony which introduced electricity to Honolulu) as being the catalyst for her overseas voyage to England, could be construed as an insult to the girl's legacy. Being non-Hawaiian is not the insult. But it's a forgivable offense(in the context of narrative film), since all biopics that depict the past rewrites itself for the sake of clarity and time compression. While in London, Kaiulani complies with Belle Epoque fashion(wide-shouldered blouse with muttonchop sleeves, cinched with a corset and wide belt to hug the waist), which wouldn't have been especially foreign to the princess, who wore European-style clothing back home, but Kilcher's assignation of the fairer "ali'i" suggests that the filmmaker decided against addressing the young woman's "other-ness". Although Kaiulani should look English, she shouldn't literally be a descendant of Queen Victoria, which is how Kilcher plays the princess, as a "barbarian" without the slightest trepidation about gaining entree into a wholly new culture. Kaiulani seems bereft of royal carriage, giggling and mugging for Clive(Shaun Evans), lost as she is in the throes of love, despite her consciousness(that's why the opening scene proves to be problematic) of the governmental tumult back home, having been a first-hand witness to the king's premier being taken hostage at gunpoint by the Hawaiian League before her hasty departure. This big romance dominates "Princess Kaiulani", at the expense of detail surrounding the fallout from the Bayonet Constitution that resulted in the reigning queen(Liliokulani) being ousted from her dismantled court. The film conjures up emotional uplift(big rabble-rousing speeches, an appointment with President Cleveland, the restoration of her title, purely symbolic) to obscure the tragedy that befell the native population, who had lost their land to the missionaries(a fact that gets lost in Kaiulani's small victory of restoring the Hawaiian people's right to vote), and lives(due to disease transmitted from the newly minted foreign landowners). Not enough is made ado about this drastic transference of power. Worst of all, despite Clive being in cahoots with his family to deceive Kaiulani(who should have known that a coup was in the making), she accepts the British gentleman with open arms at her seaside "coronation", going so far as kissing him in front of her people during their darkest hours. That is not how a dethroned monarch would act. "Princess Kaiulani" treats the loss of her personal happiness and kingdom as commiserating catastrophes.

Being ethnic for an ethnic role, in this case, Hawaiian, is not nearly as important as acting certifiably ethnic, a non-Hawaiian with an authentic spirit, which is what Kilcher lacks, as a result of he filmmaker's passive attitude towards colonization.

Well said !

[mikezexcel · 7/10 · 20 May 2010]

"d art"'s review on May 19 is spot on and written with much more detail than I would have included. Good job! I just wanted to add that these historical epic type films are getting fewer and farther between and for that reason alone it is well worth seeing. Kaiulani does make a fascinating subject and the movie's themes did resonate with me. And I have found myself still caught up in the story days later. I'd like to do more research on that time in Hawaii's history to fill in some blanks (such as what caused the princess' death at a young age). Overall I'd recommend the film as a big screen experience with the same caveats as "d art".

Amateurish and a bit offensive.

[BronzeKeilani26 · 4/10 · 18 August 2011]

This movie was disappointing. As a native Hawai'ian, I was excited to see and support a historical movie detailing a significant period in our history filled with issues that still weigh heavy on us until this day. Most of the movie seemed amateurish and poorly put together but it tells a story so I guess thats what mattered. There are several scenes which serve merely to develop the viewer's sympathy for Ka'iulani in love, begging us to be overly sensitive towards our heroine and an interest in love while in England ..instead of building her character around more important issues that were her life. Characters like Alice, Archie, Miss Barnes are shallow and rather dull. They exist solely to enhance Ka'iulani and funnel the plot towards her own turmoils in romance.

Though the dialog has its moments (like the lovely conversation at dinner in regards to food and politics), the whole movie gets sidetracked by just another fated love story... the same one we've seen a million times: Girl and boy from different situations, finances, countries, and dispositions are supposed to hate each other, but end up falling madly in love. There were also many significant events in Ka'iulani's life that are not portrayed in the movie.

Very well Done!

[ImSean007 · 10/10 · 6 September 2016]

I love period movies and this is my new favorite! Hawaii, has always been an interest to me considering I have ancestors that are Polynesian. I had no knowledge of Princess Kaiulani, and I am at awe that this was part of the history involved in the deceitful making of a nation.

The acting was amazing! The cinematography and wardrobe were amazing! How I missed the release of this movie in 2009 is beyond me.

I recommend this movie for anyone that likes period movies, Romance and historical.

On a side note, what I find interesting is in real life how Princess Kaiulani died. Inflammatory rheumatism? can be a variety of disorders...it is written that she died of pneumonia? Was it that? or was she poisoned? Considering what she went through and what she had done....

What a cover up that would be...anyone could have planted in the papers that the cause of her death was inflammatory rheumatism. Interesting!

All a biopic shouldn't be – and pretty horrible besides.

[freydis-e · 3/10 · 23 September 2014]

Ka'iulani did exist – at least they got that right. She was an interesting minor historical figure, beautiful, charming, smart, brave and determined. They got that right too, but not much else. Some of the main facts were correct. She was the last heir to the throne of Hawai'i, educated in England and did visit President Cleveland. Her family's monarchy was suppressed and her country annexed by the USA. But history isn't so clear about her motivations – to nobly serve her people, as in the movie, or to retain/regain her family's enjoyment of hereditary power and adulation.

The real Ka'iulani was something of a heroic failure. Her charisma and shuttle-diplomacy may have delayed some of the inevitable, but not by much and she achieved almost nothing in the end. She had long suffered from ill-health (ignored in the movie) and died in her early 20s. A true biopic of her life would be fascinating but rather sad and depressing. This manufactured twaddle was nothing much at all.

Kilcher is a fine actress, as shown in New World (where she had rather better support) and she does her best here in a feebly written part. The support is horrible, Pepper hamming it up as the villain and Evans as a shoehorned-in love-interest bland and tedious enough to stretch credibility as any kind of interest for a woman like this. The script is trite and ghastly, apart from authentic quotes – Princess K herself had better script-writers! Production values, costumes and settings do pull this up a little way by the bootstraps but not very far.

The worst thing here is the manufactured story, not only false but lacking any originality. The romantic strand is trite, ridiculous and way too time-consuming – as though there was nothing more interesting to say about this woman. Ludicrous cameos – nasty people from her schooldays being welcomed and helped by this saintly figure. And a true Hollywood-style happy ending. Meanwhile the true hero of the vain battle to preserve Hawai'i from the USA, Queen Liliʻuokalani, is diminished to an insignificant bit-player. This movie may have been well-intentioned but it's worse than just a waste of time. To turn the history of these real and genuinely fascinating women into this clichéed garbage is criminal.

All around Beauty

[patrick-ohana · 9/10 · 8 June 2011]

Hawaii's loss wasn't everyone's gain to say the least. The rich and powerful White minority wanted to dominate the natives of this beautiful necklace of islands, and succeed they did as we all know, but at what price: the inner and outer beauty of a Princess no less, as well as the beauty of the land. The fact that I live in Hawaii may bias my point of view. How can it though? Tears rolling throughout the movie is an indication. Is it? Any grave injustice should bring, among other things, tears. Hawaii was wronged by the USA with formal excuses coming only in 1993. Shame, and tears, many tears for Princess Kaiulani. May her name shine till the end of time.

Movie is confusing at times

[confuzzleddesigns · 5/10 · 1 July 2011]

I watched this movie not knowing much about the history of Hawaii before it became a state of the United States of America. It was interesting to learn about the story of the last princess (or some say Queen) of Hawaii. This intelligent, beautiful and elegant young woman fights with passion for her country and it's people.

I guess you can say we all know how it ends and unfortunately it is a very sad story for Princess Kaiulani.

The movie is a little confusing at the beginning because it is not explained how she is a princess and her uncle is King not her mother who passes. At least I don't think her mother was Queen. Let's just say I am uncertain about that but Kaiulani starts out as a princess and her father is of Scottish descent and not of royal blood.

About 45 minutes into the movie I thought is it over all ready not because I was bored really but because the story just seemed like what more could there be to tell. You have to realize this is a film about Princess Kaiulani and not just Hawaii.

I think the costumes and production was beautifully done. The storyline a little confusing at time and cuts to soon to different points but it was well done. Not good enough to watch twice but interesting enough if you are into the history of royals and history of Hawaii.

A lost opportunity

[fosters005 · 4/10 · 8 December 2019]

While this film is very well done stylistically, the scrip took far to many liberties with the history of the truly tragic story of how the peaceful kingdom was literally stolen by American businessmen with the aid of the US government. The romantic elements were pure fiction.

History repeats itself

[anitasaythis · 11 June 2011]

After viewing this enlightening and educational movie, I selected and viewed the extra bonus features, saddened and shocked at finding out the detailed history of Hawaii and its royalty. The truths unveiled by the research (done before the movie was made) made my heart hurt.

How sad that again, US intervention caused another group of natives to become a part of the United States when clearly, they did not want that to happen. Capitalism raised its ugly head then, as it continues to do so.

Even after moving to England (during the unrest in Hawaii) for several years while her people suffered, Kaiulani (Victoria to her Scottish father) mourned the loss of her Hawaiian mother and her beautiful land. This teenage young lady thought and acted like royalty, wanting the best for her people. Too bad that it didn't happen--her aunt, acting queen, was jailed by American soldiers and sentenced to in-house arrest and hard labor. Kaiulani returned to Hawaii and a few years later, died after developing a serious type of arthritis and a thyroid condition.

Princess Kaiulani's heart broke twice, when she gave up the man she loved for the land that she loved.

FASCINATING

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 3 December 2018]

This movie was fascinating and a bit boring at times for the male audience. I can see how a women would rave over a story of a real live princess, stripped of her powers, forced to make compromises, and manages to influence people with her charm and intellect. The evil white people aspect is glossed over about as much as one can and still be historically accurate. The movie is powerful in that you can feel the bravery, anger and heartbreak of Princess Ka'iulani. It was the descendants of the original missionaries which overthrew the government. Worse times followed as Hawaiian culture and language was essentially outlawed, primarily by the Dole family who wanted to westernize everything.

This is an excellent movie for the "young princess" out there, as it demonstrates being a princess in an exotic land really isn't as good as it pretends to be in a Disney film. The movie is historical to the point that it lacks a happy ending, unless you are an executive for Dole fruit.

No nudity, sex, or bad language. This is much information missing from this story, such as Japan's relationship with the island and the King wanting to align Hawaii (the "w" pronounced like a "V" in the movie) with Japan over the west. He attempted to arrange a marriage of the princess (at age 6) to the prince of Japan. I don't think Japan was ever mentioned in this movie. The princess really didn't die of a broken heart. She caught a fever after horseback riding.

A bit of little known history

[gradyharp · 5/10 · 3 October 2010]

PRINCESS KA'IULANI feels like a made for TV movie, a film that will inform the viewer about a bit of history few know, but also a rather static and amateurish production - pretty to look at, embarrassing to hear. Marc Dorby directed this his first directorial outing based on his story written with the assistance of Robert Payne. The facts presented are apparently true and since few know the background history of Hawaii it is at least informative.

Without much historical background about the Islands before the Americans inserted themselves to feast on the beauty and agricultural goods of that paradise, the film begins with a conflict between the anti-Royalists lead by Thurston (Barry Pepper in muttonchops) and the Royal reign of King Kalalaua (Ocean Kaowili), Queen Liliu'okalan (Leo Anderson Akana). Princess Ka'iulani (Q'orianka Kilcher, a half Peruvian actress remembered for her role as Pocahontas in THE NEW WORLD with Colin Farrell and Christian Bale) is the niece who is in line for the throne, a royal personage who understands kindness in regards to the people of her nation (she is only half Hawaiian - her father is a Scotsman). To protect the princess she is sent to England where she gradually grows accustomed to British snobbery and overcomes it through her inner strength, living in the home of the Davies - Mr. Davies (Julian Glover, Alice Davies (Tazmin Merchant, from THE TUDORS) and Clive Davies (Shaun Evans). The family presents her to society, nurtures her, and the princess falls in love with Clive, who is juts ready to enter university, and they become engaged. Back home in Honolulu things disintegrate: Thurston gathers rebels to take over the Royal rule, alters the constitution to forbid voting by the natives, the King dies, and the Queen is under house arrest. Princess Ka'iulani travels to the United States to plead her case with President Cleveland, receives a grand reception and then returns home to Hawaii, raises her dignity to cope with Thurston and the anti-Royalists and with the assistance of Sanford B. Dole (Will Patton) she is able to alter the new constitution to allow voting rights to her people.

If that all sounds a bit short on story then the viewer can understand why so much time is spent with the princess, Julie and Clive skipping along the beach and finding other moments of diversion to fill the 90 minutes of the film. The cast is competent and delivers the piecemeal scraps of script given them well. In the end there jut isn't much story here that isn't fairly obvious from the first 15 minutes of the film. It is a good lesson about the US annexation of Hawaii and the tension between the native Hawaiians and the 'invaders'......

Grady Harp

This is a movie about the Real History of Hawaii

[mandoz · 10/10 · 28 August 2023]

I have seen where there is a lot of bad reviews and I believe its mainly because the Americans and British were the villains' here. And it is quite true! The Americans using their military might to overthrow the Legitimate government and to take control of the Hawaiian islands. It was basically a repeat of what the Europeans did to the indigenous Native Americans, but at a smaller scale.

The scenery was awesome, Hawaii is such a beautiful state, even with volcanos! And the movie pretty much sticks to the History of the Islands! The young lady who played the Queen did it quite well. She made it very emotional for me. If learning history doesn't make you uncomfortable, you're doing it wrong.

Important topic

[drjgardner · 5/10 · 23 February 2022]

The film isn't that great of a film, but the topic is certainly important and rarely seen. The period costumes are good and the tone is equally good, but it's a bit dull.

'What would Hawai'i fade into without me, and what would I fade into without it?'

[TxMike · 11 June 2015]

I recall when this movie came out a few years ago, and finally presently got to see it on Netflix streaming movies. Quite a fine movie with an important historical significance. It is inspired by the true story but the disclaimer at the end clearly states that some characters and situations were fabricated for dramatic effect. But the core of the story remains faithful.

Q'orianka Kilcher, still in her teens, stars as Princess Ka'iulani. Her story came during the time that descendants of American missionaries overthrew the Hawai'ian monarchy in 1893, and over the next few years the island nation was annexed by the USA. Not covered in this movie, Hawai'i became the 50th state in 1959.

I was a teenager in 1959 and vaguely remember its becoming a state. As a kid I naturally thought everyone was probably happy about such a thing. As this movie points out it was all a struggle for the native people and Hawai'i was given a formal apology in 1993 by the President of the USA.

Anyway this is a fine movie and Ms Kilcher is lovely as the Princess and portrays her well. Of historical note, the real Princess died only a couple of years later, at the age of 23.

what a joke

[keyrok · 3/10 · 18 August 2010]

The other reviews were clearly written by the writer/director or friends of the writer/director or cast members. Don't be fooled. They're more like gushing summaries than real reader reviews. There's much more interesting characters to be portrayed than this person. Wow....

This movie was boring boring boring and amateurish at times. Who funded this thing and how is it possible? I have a couple of bridges I'd like to sell to the financier. This movie doesn't even belong on Lifetime. If you're looking for a good night's rest, I would suggest Ambien. If you're looking to waste 15 minutes of your life before falling asleep, try beating your head against the wall to knock yourself out. You'll still feel better about that 15 minutes than having spent it watching any of this film. This must be a first for the writer/director. Hopefully the last as well.

A Life Lived With Gumption

[toroandbruin · 8/10 · 9 February 2024]

Not every princess meets a prince and lives happily ever after in his castle. This is a good alternative story. It's based on fact but just "based on". As an accurate representation of all the historical details and the Hawaiian culture, others have criticized it. My "8" is an assessment of the the movie as a decently told and entertaining story. If it inspires viewers to think more about the way the US acquired Hawaii as a territory, that's certainly a bonus. The actors are good, especially the young woman playing Kaiulani. The sets and scenery are gorgeous. The Victorian costumes are very -- Victorian! I can't imagine wearing those sumptuous, heavy clothes in the Hawaiian heat, but it appears they really did. Overall, well worth a viewing.

Interesting Premise, Bland Movie

[victoriacostanza · 5/10 · 18 May 2017]

I went in this movie looking forward to see Q'Orianka Kilcher's performance after having the pleasure of watching her acting in The New World (2005). Unfortunately for me, this movie failed to live up to my expectations. Before I talk about the negative aspects of this movie, I should talk about the few good things: the cinematography and costumes are breathtakingly beautiful, but they can't make up for the blandly delivered dialogue, the emotionless, awkward romance, and some atrocious pieces of acting. Now, the actors themselves have proved they can act in other movies; thus I find fault with the director and the script. I wasn't connected at all to the love story and I found myself not believing anything they said or felt for each other. Except for some sensual kissing scenes, the romance was poorly done. Aside from that, the movie is full of historical inaccuracies, although I've come to expect that when watching a period drama film. My verdict is to skip this movie and go read or watch a documentary if you want to know more about the real Princess Kaiulani.

Just a comment on casting ...

[tom-456 · 5/10 · 17 December 2021]

This movie was off-putting for me for more than one reason. To be completely honest, I might actually have enjoyed it had it not been for the casting of the main character. I could not understand this casting, for more than one reason. I could possibly have dealt with the more obvious reason if the actor had been ethically true to the character. But this is not the case, and as such I really was not able to understand what the casting director was thinking. Evidently, the character (the princess) was of mixed race, partly European. As such, the actor chosen to play the role should have had similar ethnicity. The actor is evidently of mixed race, but this in and of itself does not make the actor ethnically correct for the role. Even if the actor, like the character, was 1/2 European. The other half of the actor's ethnicity is that of a particular group indigenous to Peru and some of the countries that neighbor Peru, mostly to the south. This ethnicity is a branch of the indigenous people of America, who entered America from Siberia a little more than 10,000 years ago. This ethnicity has very little in common with the Polynesian people who populated Hawaii, i.e., the indigenous people of the Hawaiian islands. As I tried to watch this movie, I couldn't get past the fact that the main character looked absolutely _nothing_ like what she should have looked like. This _ruined_ the movie, and would have no matter how good the movie might have been in most other respects. Why would the casting director have done this? All too often, movies that cost a lot to make are ruined by inexplicably bad choices made by casting directors.