Waikiki

This will forever change all of Hawaii cinema. Finally someone said it. Everything we all know exists here and no one talks about it. Thank you.

It's always a surreal experience seeing a film that takes place in your neighborhood. This is a gorgeously rendered yet stark portrait of modern day Waikiki. It's the Vegas of the pacific and the cost of living is sky high. Wages are some of the lowest and plenty of people work three jobs while living paycheck to paycheck. The job is to sell paradise while never having time to enjoy it ourselves.

Many indigenous cultures view The Earth as Mother and it is our life purpose to care for her and thrive in our environment together. It is a symbiotic relationship. The current system of market based capitalism where everything is for sale to the highest bidder is incompatible with this ancient belief.

The fact that there are so many homeless Hawaiians living on the streets in Hawaii is a disgrace. This film will show you why, but more importantly it will make you feel the pain of being disconnected from your homeland and history while still living on the Land. In Hawaiian, the Aina.

Aloha Aina. Love for the land.

Waikiki does a good job of not spelling out its message while you watch it, but if you allow yourself to feel the pain of its protagonist, you will leave the idea of Elvis's Blue Hawaii behind and step into a new understanding of Hawaii in 2020.