A potentially fascinating tale of how the Hawaiian Islands lost their independence and were annexed to the United States, coupled with the romantic saga of a half-Hawaiian, half-Scottish princess who battled injustice, British filmmaker Marc Forby's period drama Princess Kaiulani opens in Honolulu, circa 1888, with the long-reigning royal family being challenged by a rebel agitator (Barry Pepper) with links to local businessmen and the American government. Within months, King Kalakaua (Ocean Kaowili) is overthrown (with the help of U.S. Marines), while his 13-year-old niece/successor, Princess Ka'iulani (Q'orianka Kilcher)—dispatched to live with her widower father's British friends—is sheltered from the turmoil. During her boarding school education in England, the proud, high-spirited teenager is subjected to racial prejudice and kept unaware of the fact that the Hawaiian monarchy has fallen. At 17, anguished upon learning the truth and torn between her love for Clive Davies (Shaun Evans) and loyalty to her homeland, she implores President Grover Cleveland to halt American imperialism. When that fails, she uses her considerable diplomatic skills to achieve universal voting rights for Hawaiians. While Ka'iulani's message resonates today for the indigenous millions worldwide who are struggling for self-determination and cultural survival, Forby fails to effectively dramatize Ka'iulani's plight and her courageous nobility, relying instead on lengthy exposition and heavy-handed symbolism. An optional purchase. (S. Granger)
Princess Kaiulani
Lionsgate, 97 min., PG, DVD: $27.99, Sept. 14 Volume 25, Issue 5
Princess Kaiulani
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