‘Finding ‘Ohana’ is more than a Hawaiian ‘Goonies’
It would be easy to write off “Finding ‘Ohana” as a Goonies redux that just happens to swap the misty Oregon coast for the stunning landscape of the Hawaiian Islands.
But the visibility the film offers for the complexity and beauty of Hawaiian culture makes it so much more.
The movie, which streams on Jan. 29, is a part of Netflix’s Representation Matters collection. It tells the story of Pili (Kea Peahu) and Iaone (Alex Aiono, who has Arizona roots), Brooklynraised siblings who end up spending the summer on O’ahu. Their mother
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Hana, played by native Hawaiian actress and Kamehameha Schools graduate Lindsay Watson, brings them back after her father falls ill. She moved the family away from the islands after her husband’s death six years prior and
doesn’t seem to have been back since.
How a trip to Hawaii turns into a ‘Goonies’-style adventure
There’s tension between Hana and her dad, Kimo, that’s only intensified when she discovers financial missteps have left him at risk of losing the family’s property and home.
Suddenly, the trip could turn into a more permanent stay.
It’s a plot that will smack of reality for generations of ex-islanders who moved away seeking jobs, chasing love or simply escaping the confines of island life only to be drawn back by family obligations. There are worse fates, for certain, than feeling forced into relocating to paradise. But there’s a sharp nugget of truth behind the anger Hana feels when she discovers she may have to sell her New York apartment to meet her kuleana, or responsibility, to her family.
Alas, this is an adventure flick. So Pili, short for Pilialoha, or “beloved” in ‘Olelo Hawai’i, discovers a journal that sets her on a hunt for long-lost Spanish treasure. Not only does it present an opportunity for fun (by the way, she’s an accomplished geocacher and therefore uniquely prepared to take this on), but it also provides hope she can find enough money to save her grandfather’s home without having to uproot her own life back East.
Or at least, that’s what she thinks.
‘Finding ‘Ohana’ has its own not-so-hidden treasures
Treasure hunting dominates the majority of the movie’s second half, which will bring smiles to the faces of Millennials everywhere. Expect underage driving, underwater tunnels, hidden waterfalls and, yes, booby traps. And, no, it’s not a coincidence the movie stirs up many of the same emotions as “The Goonies.” Writer Christina Strain’s script is an homage to the family classic. “Goonies” fans may recognize Ke Huy Quan, known for playing the inventive Data in the ‘80s film, who also appears in “Finding ‘Ohana” as grandpa Kimo’s friend.
For those who know a thing or two about Hawai’i nei, there’s even more to enjoy.
Small but delicious little details like a slice of just-picked mango plucked off the tip of a knife, a towering plate of sugar-dusted malasadas and Tupperware full of homemade Spam musubi will tug on your appetite and sense of nostalgia.
The adults’ conversations also take place almost exclusively in pidgin English, local island slang that borrows words from Filipino, Japanese, Chinese and native Hawaiian languages. The exchanges can feel a little unnatural, performative even — but it’s thrilling all the same to hear the unmistakable bouncy inflection and melodic cadence of the language on screen.
A handful of lines bring jolts of “it’s
funny because it’s true” energy to the viewing experience. Island expats will chuckle in solidarity when Pili explains that she speaks Spanish but not Hawaiian because she “got tired of explaining to people back home (she) wasn’t Puerto Rican.” And when the treasure seeker asks why anyone would come “all the way to Hawai’i just to see where they film ‘Lost’?” it’s like she’s voicing the unspoken thoughts of locals across the archipelago.
For those who have never stepped foot in the islands, simply taking in the stoic green mauna of Kualoa Ranch nature preserve is enough to justify watching.
It shouldn’t spoil much to say Pili’s hunt for the lost treasure ultimately leads her to something unexpected: discovering a connection to her Hawaiian heritage. Fortunately, what her journey lacks in originality, it more than makes up for by being an unexpectedly authentic window into the modern Hawaiian experience.