Above: Ke Kamāliʻi Wahine Victoria Kaʻiulani | Below: Q'orianka Kilcher in Marc Forby's Princess Kaiulani

When British director’s Marc Forby’s period piece (loosely) based on the life of Ke Kamāliʻi Wahine Victoria Kawēkiu Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kaʻiulani made its debut at the Honolulu International Film Festival last fall, much of the public controversy swirled around the name then chosen for the film, Barbarian Princess.

When questioned publically about name, Forby said, as quoted by the Honolulu Advertiser, “The title was meant to bring in, and then challenge audiences from, say, middle America who might be expecting something like sexy dances at a luau … We wanted to draw attention to how Hawaiians were treated in the 1800s; this has never been about exploiting the Hawaiian people. I never knew it would get so heated. I thought the irony would be obvious.”

I thought Forby’s argument was a flimsy one. Moreover, it quickly summed up his actual stance. While not apparently not wanting to fall into a trap of tourist expectations, Forby indicated that his film was for a certain kind of market, one that needs everything needs spelled out for it and unable to handle a Hawaiian name in the title. At the same time, it seems that, for Forby, a Hawaiian name like Kaʻiulani–perhaps, any Hawaiian word at all–could only conjure exoticism, ignoring the number of films that retain their native language titles.

What if we were to apply his argument to prominent, valued historical figures from other country’s without their input? Whatever their personal opinion of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, I doubt most Americans would appreciate a film titled The Adultrous President. Possible criticism for content aside, Oliver Stone went with JFK and W. for his presidential flicks. I doubt Forby’s fellow Brits would have tolerated a sensationalized name for any film about any of their royals.  Consider instead the titles for films about important figures. Across the “pond”, Stephen Frear chose the simple The Queen for his 2006 film about Queen Elizabeth II.

Since the Hawaiʻi 2009 debut, Forby and his team have reconsidered their marketing strategy and dropped the barbarian idea. As of May 2010, viewers across the United States can now head out and watch Princess Kaiulani (note: no ʻokina) instead. While I was relieved of the name change, I still couldn’t help but cringe when I saw the melodramatic trailer.

Since the film’s debut last week, I have been entertained to see what American critics think of the film and how Forby’s film comes across to those unfamiliar with Hawaiʻi.

The Los Angeles Times’ Gary Goldstein said the film made for “starchy entertainment”. Goldstein goes on to describe actress Q’orianka Kilcher’s portrayal of Kaʻiulani as bloodless. Unsurprisingly, the film only earned two stars.

Mike Hale of the New York Times went further in criticizing the film. He describes it as “an odd hybrid” and “deeply silly and stagebound”. He says, “At times it’s the sort of ridiculously anachronistic period film in which historical characters act like 21st-century teenagers who happen to be wearing hoop skirts.”

Reading his reviews, it’s clear that Mr. Hale read up at least a little on Hawaiian history, enough to catch Forby’s errors. Hale states that Forby

“fudges in ways small (an early scene shows Ka’iulani playing a significant role in a palace function she did not attend) and large (the circumstances of her departure for England are much more dramatic and historically relevant in the film than they were in real life). By the time Ka’iulani, having returned home as a figurehead crown princess, French kisses Clive in full view of her retinue, all you can do is shake your head.”

And while his nomenclature is off (Hale calls an ʻokina an apostrophe), even the New York City journalist can catch the film’s spelling error:

A final note: the film’s title drops the apostrophe in Ka’iulani — so that strictly speaking, “Princess Kaiulani” seems to refer to the Waikiki hotel rather than to the princess herself. It didn’t matter at a screening this week, however, as the print shown to critics still carried the film’s original and less felicitous title: “Barbarian Princess.”

That said, Mr. Hale’s review is not without its own inaccuracies or flaws. I strongly disagree, for instance, with his one-liner that the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom is “a complex and sometimes squalid story with less-than-admirable behavior on all sides” is highly debatable. But I won’t make the mistake of thinking of him as a historian or a scholar. I quote him here a film critic four thousand miles away from Hawaiʻi, who, with a little research and working under a pressing deadline, could detect the film’s flaws.

Interestingly enough, I found that one local newspaper’s review didn’t find any of these weaknesses, offering a mostly sunny, encouraging words about Princess Kaiulani. This, of course, came as no surprise, as quite often, more local newspaper critics write more like PR reps than actual critics. At least, the review from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin read more like a review, though I disagree with the critic’s opinion that films can play with history because we watch movies just for entertainment… and not, say, to learn about the human experience or be inspired.

That said, I have not brought myself around to watching Princess Kaiulani yet. Kircher’s stilted pronunciation of Hawaiʻi was discouraging enough. After all, what kind of princess can’t even say the name of her own kingdom right?

All the strife around Princess Kaiulani film underscores the need to support kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmakers so an authentic perspective of Hawaiian culture can find its rightful place on the silver screen. In the meantime, I would rather spend my money to watch one of the screening’s at the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ ʻŌiwi Film Festival and wait to see Forby’s film on Netflix.

JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

I think the trailer for Princess Kaiulani says enough about the film.

The marvelous blog I Want To Be a Roitfeld featured this tee in an earlier post this month, and I had to share. As much of a fan as I am of Ms. Carine Roitfeld – rédactrice-en-chef of French Vogue – I’m not entirely certain that I could sport this. Of course, the resemblance is not 100%. I’m sure the image would just make many think of some character from the film Avatar.

By this time, everyone has heard of the major earthquake that struck Haiti in the Caribbean.

There are several easy ways that you can donate an assist relief efforts and ease the massive human suffering that is taking place. Even the smallest amount can help.

1. Text Haiti to 90999 in order to easily donate $10 to the Red Cross relief effort. See info on the American Red Cross blog.
2. Text Yele to 501501 to donate to Yéle  Haiti, a grassroot movement to help Haiti.
3. Apple has set up an easy-to-use donation page on iTunes. Donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 or $200.
4. Donate online on the secure Yéle Haiti donate webpage.
5. Donate online to the American Red Cross here.

Please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers as they make their way out of this crisis.

I admit that I usually skip over the local Honolulu papers and send my browser right over to the New York Times. This is one area in life where the former New Yorker in me refuses to give up control. But the articles are just too good. This past week, I enjoyed in particular…

• Suzi Menkes’ “American Beauty”, a meditation  on the passage of classic, simple American sportswear : in an interesting exchange of roles, European designers are taking up the simple and practical, while formerly pragmatic brands like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein are delving into the details. Fascinating.

• I was moved and disturbed by Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert’s opinion piece, “Times to Remember, Places to Forget” about the progressive disappearance of any local flavor in the American landscape. This particular passage got me:

When they [Americans] remember the Starbucks where they met the one they married or the Gap where they lost the one they didn’t, they will be marinating in memories that happened everywhere but not somewhere, reliving experiences that are located in time but dislocated in space.

From a Hawaiian perspective, I find it even more disturbing to see it happening right here in Hawai‘i at an accelerating rate. Burial grounds literally covered by a Walmart, the continual progression of generic SoCal-style suburbs across the ‘Ewa plain, where we can over our beds in Hawaiian-syle quilts that were actually made in Southeast Asia.

PACK UP THAT ED HARDY,  THE NEW TATTOO TEES ARE HERE

So it seems just about everyone has an Ed Hardy t-shirt. But honestly, when Jon Gosselin  (of the now defunct reality series Jan and Kate Plus Eight) is donning them (see here), perhaps it is a sign to move on. I first heard about Horiyoshi the Third via style.com. The line is based upon the work of Japanese master tattooist Horiyoshi III. Born Yoshihito Nakano, the master was bestowed the title from his teacher. Collections are available for both men and women, covering basics like t-shirts, sweaters (yes, cardigans too) and scarves—all emblazoned with designs inspired by Horiyoshi distnctive aesthetic. While some of the oni designs were a bit too menacing for us, this groovy sweater in light blue from the new Spring 2010 collection seems less intimidating but seemsnevertheless stylish and bad-ass at the same time. Pieces are meticiously done in limited runs in Japan, making a Horiyoshi tee more of a luxury buy. But don’t the finer things in life usually cost a bit more? Distribution is currently limited, but the Horiyoshi brand is in the process of adding an online store to their site. http://www.horiyoshi-thethird.com

VIKINGS WITH TATS: NORDIC DRAGONS BY COLIN DALE

While we’re on the subject of tattoos, I’ve been considering getting one for a few years now. But as I always have to go for the complicated and arcane, I have . Though I have a few different ideas in my head—I’m going to have to get my Hawaiian genealogy down before I get a traditional kākau—the one design I’ve been contemplating is a dragon. Well, actually two. A Chinese flying dragon, fei long zai tian, in a sleeve, completed by a Nordic dragon either on the other arm or on my back, as a nod to the other half of my ancestry. Ideally, I’d get one from Colin Dale, Canadian-born tattoist of Nordic origin. He draws his inspiration of Viking tradition as well as the indigenous Inuit of northern Canada where he was born. The only problem is that Colin lives in Copenhagen. So for now it seems, I will have to wait for one of his tattoos when I finally visit Scandinavia. In the meantime, I will continue to check out Colin’s portfolio on MySpace.