Cane Fire

It's quite fascinating. It's a little scattershot as a movie, but it does show you how the island has been co-opted.

An unhurried, patient documentary, one that trusts its audience to follow along rather than relying on cheap gimmicks to manipulate emotions.

An indispensable watch, Banua-Simon’s first feature focuses on the island of Kauaʻi and the history of its exploitation as a colony, which endures under the guise of statehood.

The cinematography is often grainy, and occasionally Banua-Simon’s choice of interview subjects feels unfocused or repetitive. But there is tremendous educational and moral value in his overview of the history of Kauai.

The use of movie clips and vintage commercials provides ease of entry into difficult topics, making for an appealing resource for the study of race and income inequality. Professors of American history and politics may find Cane Fire valuable.

With Cane Fire, Anthony Banua-Simon explores both the outcomes and precursors of this long-running tendency, examining the pull of media narratives on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i for viewers both there and outside.

Cane Fire is a fascinating documentary, and I would recommend it to any American to watch. We should see what is wrought by claiming an archipelago from the people who actually owned it.

Banua-Simon meticulously explains how the same corporations that initially exploited the natives and later undermined the labor movement never left Kaua’i, but became more deeply entrenched.

Anthony Banua-Simon’s documentary Cane Fire contrasts decades of Hollywood images of his home with its current reality.

An eye-opening, illuminating exposé. It finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally as well as intellectually.