Kumu Hina

Co-directors Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson's documentary accomplishes two purposes. First, it depicts the work of preserving and teaching Native Hawaiian culture—long suppressed by the outsiders who effectively conquered the islands—being done at Halau Lokahi, a public charter school in Honolulu. Secondly, it serves up a profile of the school's hula teacher, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, also known as Kumu Hina, a transgender woman or, in the Hawaiian language, “mahu.” The film briefly recounts her history, but mainly concentrates on Hina as she trains the hula troupe for its end-of-year public performance, in particular focusing on the support she lends to Ho'onami, a girl who joins the otherwise all-male group and by semester's end has not only become its leader but also been accepted by the boys as having surpassed all of them in “ku” (masculine energy). Emphasis is also given to Hina's relationship with Haemaccelo Kalu, her Tongan husband, who emigrates to Oahu, takes a job as a security guard and has to learn to navigate the different culture of “the States.” Hina, Haemaccelo, and the students and staff at Halau Lokahi allowed the directors a large degree of intimacy, which makes for a revealing portrait of those who are attempting to rescue native cultural practices that are in danger of being forgotten in an age of globalization. At the same time, this is a touching tribute to a courageous woman who is determined, despite social difficulties, to live to the fullest a role that while condemned by outsiders is accepted (indeed respected) in her native culture, and by doing so underscore the real meaning of aloha—namely, peace and compassion. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)