Le maître des îles

The impact "The Hawaiians" has made on this viewer stretches over many years. Not only because it finishes the story initiated by the earlier film release, "Hawaii," which is readily available on video. But also because within this film we enjoy an epic life's story of a Chinese m woman, played by Tina Chen, who only speaks the Hakah mountain dialect. She arrives in Hawaii with almost no English, but a strong desire to survive and succeed. She is the center figure of the story and as such, she gives birth to five sons and ultimately one daughter all by a man, also from China, played by Mako. She dedicates herself to him. This guy, by the way, is already married to a woman still living in China,his first wife, who he sends much of his earnings to. So our Heroine, must be her own children's "auntie."

When her husband contracts Leprosy, Wu Chow's Auntie, as she is now called by everybody who knows her, nobly follows her husband to the outcast Island of Molokai where she takes care of him until he dies.(Mako is not Chinese but an excellent Japanese-American actor. We can see him in his latest film as the Admiral who attacks "Pearl Harbor."} Thanks to the friendship of the Hawaiian Island Master played by Charlton Heston, this great lady, who miraculously does not contract the dreaded Leprous disease, is allowed to return to her children, now grown to teenagers. All five boys,and the youngest, a girl, born at the Leper Colony and sent home just after her birth, have all managed to still be living together at the old homestead. Although missing for so many year, they are nevertheless, glad to see their mother, but when Wu Chow's Auntie begins to take charge and direct them, declaring which son will be a lawyer and which a doctor etc.; they are astonished and resistantly shout questions ... " How can we do this, we have no money. " Wu Chow's Auntie listens patiently to all the reasons for why her expectations are impossible. Then the noble mother pulls herself to her fullest height, surely no more then five feet, and declares, looking each child in his eyes until he is forced to lower them: "Impossible has come back from Molokai." Naturally to find out what happens to this woman you have to read James Michener's epic novel. This one scene alone, would make the film a MUST SEE in my opnion. I really am impatient with the controllers who are delaying the release of this wonderful story. Come on guys, get moving.. Give us "The Hawaiians," on VHS and DVD too.

The Hawaiians was made from the middle third of Michener's novel Hawaii. Compared to the Julie Andrews - Max von Sydow movie Hawaii, made from the first third of the book, The Hawaiians is unpretentious, lowbrow, but much more entertaining. The plot of The Hawaiians revolves around two stories -- the rise to political and commercial power of second generation American immigrants, and the arrival in Hawaii of Chinese and Japanese immigrants.

The story of the American immigrants' rise to power follows the life of Whip Hoxworth, played by Charlton Heston. He gains wealth by establishing the first pinepple plantation in Hawaii, then participates in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, which led to the islands becoming an American territory.

The story of Chinese and Japanese immigration to Hawaii is told through the life of Char Nyuk Tsin, played by Tina Chen. She becomes the second wife of fellow immigrant Kee Mun Kee, who fails at almost everything he does. But through hard work and perseverence, Char Nyuk Tsin prospers and creates a better life for her children.

This is not highbrow cinema. The acting is second rate, the script is second rate, everything about it is second rate. For example, the attempts by the Chinese-American actors to speak Chinese is almost laughable. They speak Mandarin with atrocious accents, even though the characters are supposed to be speaking either Hakka or Cantonese. But it doesn't really matter. This is the sort of movie to watch when you don't want to have to think hard. It's an enjoyable no-brainer, a pleasant diversion while eating popcorn.

The Hawaiians enjoys a footnote in the history of the MPAA's movie rating system. When it came out in 1970, it earned a PG rating, despite having two scenes of female nudity. Japanese immigrant farm workers are shown enjoying a traditional communal bath, and one attractive young woman is shown topless for a short time. This created a mild controversy at the time, although the scene is about as sexy as a National Geographic pictorial.

I have not been able to find The Hawaiians on tape or DVD. If anyone in the business can get it released, please do!

I'm sure that what attracted Charlton Heston to sign on for The Hawaiians was the fact he'd be working with director Tom Gries with whom he had done Will Penny and Number One. Will Penny was Heston's favorite film. The Hawaiians would mark the third and final joint project the two men worked on.

Heston plays the grandson of that New England sea captain Richard Harris from the film Hawaii and the James Michener book it is based on. He's every bit the hell raiser that grandfather was, but has an eye for business and does have a vision for Hawaii. Of course it's not the same vision as the native Hawaiians had or the same vision that Chinese and Japanese immigrants have. That in a nutshell is the history of Hawaii.

The rest of the white characters are descendants from the characters in the first film. The added component are the characters of Mako and Tina Chen who immigrate to Hawaii from China and found a small dynasty of their own. Their story and that of Heston and his family entwine over several decades.

One thing I will say about The Hawaiians that is most admirable. The Asian and Pacific Islander characters you see here are portrayed as three dimensional and with dignity. No fortune cookie stereotypes are to be found in The Hawaiians.

I've always been of the opinion that you cannot make a bad film about Hawaii because the scenery is so beautiful. The Hawaiians is no exception and the film did get an Oscar nomination for costume design.

Tina Chen does a remarkable job as the matriarchal head of her family after Mako dies of leprosy on the island of Molokai. In a patriarchal culture that was by no means an easy thing. Her performance is the best acting in The Hawaiians.

The Hawaiians has an Edna Ferber like sweep in its plot and its subject. It's also sticking close to the facts in terms of Hawaiian history, a very worthy film to see.

An epic drama movie about the obstinate captain Whip : Charlton a Heston going back to Hawaii . He has inherited a worthless land , but Whip then becomes himself a powerful pineapple owner by smuggling pineapple from French Guyana . Meanwhile , aboard his ship , The Carthaginian , there is a cargo of Chinese emigrants : Tina Chen and Mako subsequently disembarking in Hawaii following hardship ways . As Heston and his ambition bringing distresses to his family via his stubborness . Dealing with the Giant Story of Modern Hawaii in which mean colonists attempt to topple the Hawaii Queen and to create a new state to unite it to the United States . Along the way Whip prohibites his son : John Philip Law to marry a Chinese girl . The continuation of James A Michener's epic novel, Hawaii !

A soap opera and unpretentious entertainment movie about a proud and mighty pineapple owner and his family, including drama , love stories and tragedy . A James A. Michener's enormous novel and compressed it into compact , intelligent and sensitive scenes . This is the follow-up to Hawaii 1966 by George Roy Hill with Richard Harris , Julie Andrews , Max Von Sidow , Gene Hackman , concerning a stiff-upper-lip minister sent to Hawaii to convert the natives . In this sequel , The Hawaiians 1970 , Charlton Heston gives a fine performance in his ordinary style as the tough and bigoted land baron who founds an empire in pineapples and he will stop at nothing to get his civilian or political purports . His portrait clearly delineates the authority and alternating torment to communicate his emotions . Heston also performed a similar movie titled " Diamond Head" 1962, equally playing an ambitious pineapple owner . While Geraldine Chaplin is passable , though she has not quite the weight for the role of the consumptive wife . There's a captivating performance from Tina Chen as the pregnant Chinese emigrant who disembarks in Hawaii to face off a new life along with Mako . Accompanied by good secondaries as Alec McCowen, John Phillip Law, Don Knight , James Gregory , MIko Mayama and you'll have to concentrate harder to pick up actors as Chris Robinson, Lyle Bettger and James Hong .

It displays a marvellous and gorgeous cinematography from the sunny Hawaii by cameramen Lucien Ballard and Philip H Lathrop . As well as a rousing and stirring musical score by Henry Mancini .The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Tom Gries , including some flaws and disjointed scenes . Tom was a good craftsman who made a lot of films as cinema as television until his early death at 54 . As he directed Westerns as 100 rifles , Will Penny , Mustang , Nevada Smith and other genres as in Breakout and The Glass House . Rating : 6/10 . The movie will appeal to Charlton Heston fans .

This film today, is quite forgotten because it never turns up on TV and is not widely available on video, and certainly not yet on DVD. Tis is a great pity as THE HAWAIIANS is an excellent and interesting stand alone sequel to the whopper epic of 1966 HAWAII - which was a 70mm release with Julie Andrews and Max Von Sydow (and even Bette Milder in a crowd scene). James Mitchener and his tales of the south seas books presented film makers with many opportunities for grand and spectacular South Pacific extravaganza dramas and even one enchanted musical. THE HAWAIIANS is basically the story of how Charlton Heston started the pineapple industry in Hawaii, with the help of hard working clever Chinese peasants, some of whom were brought into the plantation household for love and 'marriage' and even unfortunately, a spot of leprosy. While that might sound trite, and I am not making fun of it, it allows for 'ordinary' people to feature center screen in an epic way. Because this film is not about "major Euro characters" like in the first film, THE HAWAIIANS unjustly has been derailed and forgotten. But it is actually more interesting because it is about someone else other than religious zealots smashing idols and their sexually repressed wives ripping the corset off to run barefoot down the beach with the native teenagers.. So if you wish to see a truly glorious epic film about the people who actually did something to and for Hawaii (whether it ultimately good or bad) THE HAWAIIANS lives up to its title showcasing the real hard working people who lived and loved in Hawaii a century ago. I had the unforgettable experience of seeing both HAWAII and THE HAWAIIANS back to back as a double feature (7pm-midnight) in a Sydney Suburban cinema one freezing winter night lashed by a monster cyclonic thunderstorm. Here we were rugged to the chin in woolly everything straining to hear the soundtrack over the crashing din of the rain on the theater's enormous tin roof whilst looking at a spectacular cinema-scope vista of tropical sunny island drama. About an hour into the first film, the plaster ceiling sprang several serious leaks and a very grimy waterfall left of screen that was washing 55 years of dirt from above the curtains. The tubby manager and the broom kid were heard scurrying into the ceiling with empty tin ice cream bins. With hissed directions from Mr Tubby, the kid was clomping about on the beams, creaking and thudding, placing empty tins under the drizzle from the roof above. That plugged the leaks but instead started a hilarious symphony of 'pling' and 'plong' and 'plish' and 'klading' and 'sklosh' as the huge raindrops fell into the empty bins and began to fill them. It sounded like when somebody plays "eidelweiss' using a dozen glasses of water of varying amounts. This began to cause the entire audience of a dozen of us to laugh and look about. Suddenly something crashed and splashed from behind the screen as the kid went straight through a part of the ceiling long unseen. A massive puddle gushed from under the masking, across the stage to the footlights and waterfall-ed straight into the front aisle. The kid made his way out from behind the screen cringing, wet and meekly looking about. The audience erupted into rapturous applause. The kid took a bow and slipped straight offstage onto the soggy carpet and out of sight. What a night! Value and extras like that never happen in multiplexes today. Anyway, after we survived HAWAII, we all got a free hot chocolate, congratulated the manager and wet kid, and went back in, storm raging still, buckets sploshing away , ceiling straining, and let THE HAWAIIANS transport us to another world in another (warmer) age. Such was the professional cinematic expertise of this very good sequel. I have never looked at a pineapple in the same way ever again.