I have no love for the bloated epics which were in vogue in the 1950s and 1960s, so color me shocked when I realized how much I enjoyed HAWAII. The culture clash between the Calvinist missionaries and the traditional islanders was fascinating, and presented in a more nuanced manner than one might expect. Spectacle is on display of course, and the undercooked subplot with Richard Harris is a bit soapy, but it is the clash of wills between the two groups which makes the movie so compelling.
Regarding comments which claim the movie is anti-Christian-- it's not. It is sharply critical of the way religion was used to justify the exploitation of the natives for financial profit and the eradication of their culture. It also points out the hypocrisy of the missionaries even within the context of the Christian religion: within Christiantiy, all people are to be considered equally loved by God and thus all Christians must view others as their brothers and sisters (even enemies must be loved and forgiven), yet the missionaries like Max von Sydow's character view the natives with hostility and contempt. Christian values such as forgiveness and empathizing with the powerless and marginalized are celebrated.
And let me close out by discussing the most criticized element of the movie: Max von Sydow as Reverend Abner Hale. Hale is, to be frank, an asshat of the highest order: he's racist, he's quick to believe in God's wrath before God's mercy, he's vindictive, he's proud, he believes that even babies go to hell if they aren't baptized, he beats himself up for being sexually excited by his own wife. I do agree that Max von Sydow's performance gets to be "one note" as another reviewer observed-- he's only really three-dimensional in the first and last thirds of the movie. But I do think there are hidden depths to the character which elude most viewers.
The scene where Hale is eating dinner with his family before he goes out to woo Jerusha is telling. His father's prayer of thanksgiving is more a tirade against outsiders (atheists and Catholics, particularly) and the family all seem rather hard and cold, suggesting Hale's own discomfort with affection and even sexuality stem from a cold childhood. He cannot conceive of a loving God because his own father was not loving. (The guy even shakes his children's hands rather than hugs them at the end when they leave for New England!)
Both the memory of the awkward family dinner and Hale's sweetly awkward wooing of Jerusha are the two things which kept me from entirely writing Hale off in the scenes to come. They suggest past trauma and hidden warmth-- and ultimately it takes a total loss of control and the humbling of his ego for Hale to truly find that "state of grace" he only believed came with thinking the correct theological doctrines. His arc is incredibly powerful and I think Von Sydow is at his best in the final scenes, where he is a humbled, more gracious man, if still stiff and stubborn in certain ways. The problem is that he doesn't do much to play at these hidden reserves for much of the movie, making Hale a loudmouthed villain with a comical stovepipe hat rather than a layered person.
Regardless, this flaw is not enough to destroy the movie. It is very effective, packed with memorable characters and gorgeous visuals of the Hawaiian islands. I'd call it one of the last true Old Hollywood spectacles.
Regarding comments which claim the movie is anti-Christian-- it's not. It is sharply critical of the way religion was used to justify the exploitation of the natives for financial profit and the eradication of their culture. It also points out the hypocrisy of the missionaries even within the context of the Christian religion: within Christiantiy, all people are to be considered equally loved by God and thus all Christians must view others as their brothers and sisters (even enemies must be loved and forgiven), yet the missionaries like Max von Sydow's character view the natives with hostility and contempt. Christian values such as forgiveness and empathizing with the powerless and marginalized are celebrated.
And let me close out by discussing the most criticized element of the movie: Max von Sydow as Reverend Abner Hale. Hale is, to be frank, an asshat of the highest order: he's racist, he's quick to believe in God's wrath before God's mercy, he's vindictive, he's proud, he believes that even babies go to hell if they aren't baptized, he beats himself up for being sexually excited by his own wife. I do agree that Max von Sydow's performance gets to be "one note" as another reviewer observed-- he's only really three-dimensional in the first and last thirds of the movie. But I do think there are hidden depths to the character which elude most viewers.
The scene where Hale is eating dinner with his family before he goes out to woo Jerusha is telling. His father's prayer of thanksgiving is more a tirade against outsiders (atheists and Catholics, particularly) and the family all seem rather hard and cold, suggesting Hale's own discomfort with affection and even sexuality stem from a cold childhood. He cannot conceive of a loving God because his own father was not loving. (The guy even shakes his children's hands rather than hugs them at the end when they leave for New England!)
Both the memory of the awkward family dinner and Hale's sweetly awkward wooing of Jerusha are the two things which kept me from entirely writing Hale off in the scenes to come. They suggest past trauma and hidden warmth-- and ultimately it takes a total loss of control and the humbling of his ego for Hale to truly find that "state of grace" he only believed came with thinking the correct theological doctrines. His arc is incredibly powerful and I think Von Sydow is at his best in the final scenes, where he is a humbled, more gracious man, if still stiff and stubborn in certain ways. The problem is that he doesn't do much to play at these hidden reserves for much of the movie, making Hale a loudmouthed villain with a comical stovepipe hat rather than a layered person.
Regardless, this flaw is not enough to destroy the movie. It is very effective, packed with memorable characters and gorgeous visuals of the Hawaiian islands. I'd call it one of the last true Old Hollywood spectacles.