Princess Kaiulani Review
By David Kempler
This Princess Is Not All That Royal
Victoria KaŹ»iulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn (it is expected that you all memorize this name) was the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the late 1800s, before it became a state.
Because of civil unrest, Princess KaŹ»iulani (Q'orianka Kilcher) was sent away from her family to England for her own protection, at the age of thirteen. There, she was placed with a wealthy family and adjusted to her new life. One of the members of her surrogate family was Clive Davies (Shaun Evans), a young man who initially disliked Ka'iulani, because he resented her view of what he perceived as entitlement. It's easy to see that there is something between them rather quickly, but their heat is lukewarm.
She soon came to the realization that she needed to help her homeland, above all else. Displaying a maturity well beyond her chronological age, she set sail for America to meet with President Grover Cleveland. She was not invited, but upon her arrival she held a press conference to announce her intentions. At the time, that was an incredibly bold move for anyone, let alone a woman. Then again, in today's world, it would prove to be a far more unlikely mission to accomplish for a man or a woman. Among her goals, was to show the president, and the American people, that people from Hawaii were not barbarians, as they were presented in our media.
While "Princess Kaiulani" deals with a very powerful figure of Hawaiian and American history, the power of her in real life never translates completely to the screen. It is all extremely lovely to look at, though. We certainly understand that her cause is just and important, but no part of the story, whether it be the civil unrest, her cause, her romance, nor her eventual return to Hawaii, raises us to cheer for her or care all that much about what we are watching. It's a shame, because there is a great story here, but we will have to wait for someone else to try and tell it a bit better. This princess does not deserve her tiara.
