Hawaii

Hawaii (2013)

What seemed to start as a slow, drawn out movie turned into something pretty amazing.  At first I wasn’t sure where anything was going and why it took so long for anything to happen.  For those of us living a fast-paced, always-on kind of life this type of movie can throw you for a loop.  But often the best things are worth waiting for.

Here’s the adapted summary: Martin is looking for work and somehow ends up at Eugenio’s house. When they recognize that they were childhood friends Eugenio offers him work for the summer. As they spend the summer together, a power and desire game starts and their relationship grows beyond their friendship.

One of the first things I thought of when I started watching the film was that it was artsy.  Sometimes this carries a positive connotation and other times not.  I saw a shot of leaves for more than a few seconds and wondered why.  Then I remembered I can be an impatient clown and settled in.  Once the story starts moving it hooks you.  The movie reminds me almost of reading a book in that it lets you fill in so many of the blanks with what you bring to the story.  For some this may not be your cup of tea.  But it makes you ask questions and really think about the situation.

The pace of the film is slow and deliberate.  There is no getting around it – this movie takes its good ol’ time and doesn’t care what you think.  But the pace of the film mirrors what is happening in the story, and it almost makes you feel what the characters feel.  Impatience, anxiety, anticipation…   By the time you get where the story goes, you get it.

But there are a few things I still don’t quite get.  The name of the movie would be one.  I’ve read in other reviews and descriptions that the writer buried the meaning in the movie, but I didn’t see it.  There are a number of unanswered questions about the characters in the film, and in some cases I wonder why the issues were brought up at all because they don’t seem to have bearing on the storyline.  Perhaps they set something up that I missed?  I also am not sure what the significance is of the pineapples.  I wish I did because that did have an effect on the story.  If you figured it out let me know in the comments.

The film is quite focused though with only 4 characters, one main place where almost everything happens, and story that goes on one main arc.  It makes you wonder more about the characters, but really that becomes meaningless in the end.  It’s about finding love where you may not expect it, and trying to figure out another human being in the process.

It’s not a light movie for a quick evening watch, but worth it when you have some brainpower to spare and some time to kill.

Availability:
Amazon: DVD & Streaming
Netflix: DVD
TLA: DVD & Streaming