Greetings again from the darkness. Filmmaker Alika Maikau effectively captures a heart-breaking and tense scene that has played out in most every community across the globe. A young man pulls up in front of a school and tells a waiting student that his mom sent him for pick-up. The boy is suspicious, but not alarmed.
It's immediately obvious from the banter between man and boy that they know each other, however it requires the full 9 minute run time before we understand the full picture. Kainoa (Holden Mandrial-Santos) is desperately trying to connect with the younger Jonathan (Austin Tucker in his first on screen appearance). Generational difference are clear through the boy's cell phone video games and the unfamiliar-to-the-other catchphrases each uses. The boy puts on a show of toughness for the man, trying his best to show independence and strength ... not an easy task when you can't fix your own broken flip-flop, and your defensive shield fades over a bag of red licorice.
When Jonathan's mother (Danielle Zalopany) arrives on the scene, the pieces come together and we fully understand the emotions. "He's my boy too" is a phrase that carries the weight of all three involved. Excellent filmmaking with touches of Hawaiian culture.
It's immediately obvious from the banter between man and boy that they know each other, however it requires the full 9 minute run time before we understand the full picture. Kainoa (Holden Mandrial-Santos) is desperately trying to connect with the younger Jonathan (Austin Tucker in his first on screen appearance). Generational difference are clear through the boy's cell phone video games and the unfamiliar-to-the-other catchphrases each uses. The boy puts on a show of toughness for the man, trying his best to show independence and strength ... not an easy task when you can't fix your own broken flip-flop, and your defensive shield fades over a bag of red licorice.
When Jonathan's mother (Danielle Zalopany) arrives on the scene, the pieces come together and we fully understand the emotions. "He's my boy too" is a phrase that carries the weight of all three involved. Excellent filmmaking with touches of Hawaiian culture.