Producers and the director get an A for the courage to add intimations of what could be ethnic differences for the purpose of describing what is unique about Polynesian culture.
From the beginning of this film, I was bothered about the obvious roles of "Anglos" in this story, initially assuming that type of casting was crass marketing commercialism. This challenged me all of the way through the story, even after I considered the historical authenticity of the mix and admitting to myself that I just didn't want "whites" elevated what I assumed was above others in the story, but then the story itself showed me the errors of my assumptions about its own characteristics, by revealing the people and the culture it portrays.
Important aspects of the Polynesian culture itself is how that happens, the joyous choral music, simple details of their daily lives, dancing communities, diverse physiognomies, detailed clothing, all given generous lens-time by the director to allow us to feel the organic bounty.
I admire the challenge to conventional identity assumptions that this film presents, but its truest, most valid, self is in how the whole of it and the story that it blossoms out of is greater than the sum of its parts.
From the beginning of this film, I was bothered about the obvious roles of "Anglos" in this story, initially assuming that type of casting was crass marketing commercialism. This challenged me all of the way through the story, even after I considered the historical authenticity of the mix and admitting to myself that I just didn't want "whites" elevated what I assumed was above others in the story, but then the story itself showed me the errors of my assumptions about its own characteristics, by revealing the people and the culture it portrays.
Important aspects of the Polynesian culture itself is how that happens, the joyous choral music, simple details of their daily lives, dancing communities, diverse physiognomies, detailed clothing, all given generous lens-time by the director to allow us to feel the organic bounty.
I admire the challenge to conventional identity assumptions that this film presents, but its truest, most valid, self is in how the whole of it and the story that it blossoms out of is greater than the sum of its parts.