Hawaii

I am a citizen of the country in which this film takes place and first of all I can attest to the production value being top notch. It captures that era perfectly. From the cars, buildings, clothing and even gestures and family dining manners everything is on par.

Be warned though as this is not an action movie but rather a lighthearted suspenseful romantic drama that doesn't necessarily insist on depicting the Romanian communist era, but does this nonetheless indirectly through dialog and setting, which is a good thing.

The dialog is good, the acting is almost great and I was surprised to see older people in the theater enjoying this alongside teenagers! So the critics calling this a superficial communist era film are wrong. This actually appealed to younger audiences, as the film as a whole felt more like a drama in that era, not a film insisting to depict that era.

I was amused and entertained by this film and I recommend you go watch it in the afternoon, not in the evening (that's for superhero movies and whatnot). Nothing heavy here but bonus points for putting some puzzle pieces together in my mind in regards to that time period. My rating is 7.5/10

Hawaii tries to reproduce the life in the awful days of the Romanian communist regime. It achieves that only partially, not having enough strength to imbue the scenes with the authentic feeling of anxiety that defined the era. Some of the actors do a decent job - but nothing outstanding, while others seem artificial. The story floated, barely, until the final chapter unfolded and took everything down with its silly idea and sloppy execution. The movie seemed rushed and bland, despite tapping into a rich subject.

I'm a 40 years old from neighboring Bulgaria and remember quite well what was back then in 1988. But have no intention on arguing about the truthfulness of the movie.

I was curious to see the development and yes - the end was indeed a disappointment with its unreality. But more intriguing was to ascertain something that I notice the last few years - a fear that seemingly shakes certain circles. Fear originating from the growing desire and struggle of more and more people and groups for social equality and rights. Once again in history.

As these movements go stronger the propaganda machine is breaking up to spread the fear from the communist ghost again. As it was during the First and Second Red Scare, through Reagan's and Thatcher's ruling... and apparently will be every time in future until critical mass of people takes out the air from these circles by not playing by their rules.

P.S. Pity for the money, spent on this creation.

I must say this is the first time a Romanian movie makes me go through a roller-coaster of emotions like this! All the cinema would laugh or exclaim a mad "aghhh!" from time to time,depending on the action, feeling the struggle of the main character. I felt like we were all there, with him, working, falling in love, hoping, trying to create a better life. I think all the actors did a great job ! My personal favorite is the grandpa, but all the actors created believable characters! No bad jokes or boring moments. The action captures you and until the end,you wait anxiously to see what will happen next ?!? It is not predictable at all, and as someone in the audience said this is a "different" movie-the action takes place in communism but it is not about communism. For someone who was little memories about that time, it is a good way to realize how things where, and appreciate more what we are able to do nowadays. I believe this is a movie for all ages, and you will not regret watching it!!!

Definitely recommended!

Jesús del Cerro did an interesting piece of work here with this one. Dramatic and thrilling, but, unfortunately, few moments of originality.

After I watched it, I understood that all of this was made in order to make the ordinary viewer aware of the idea of 1988 Romania, a country where communism was in its final part of life (and glory) and when the entire Romanian people's lives were very difficult to live.

This is the main subject and thanks to the good work of the filming crew and because of the good performance by its actors, Hawaii is a must watch for all Romanian film enthusiasts and also, if you want to live in the 1988 Communist Romanian Bucharest for 216 minutes.

I warmly recommend this film, but they had a lot more to do and they had the potential, this is why I have rated it with a 6.