The islands of Hawai’i arguably give anyone who steps foot on its land a different feeling. You might ask a haole (white person, usually a tourist) about their vacation to the Big Island or a kama’āina (Hawaiian local) about their experiences with a rapidly changing island landscape. Chances are that they both revere the islands as something important, sacred even in certain areas.
That sacred feeling and reverence permeate throughout Christopher Makoto Yogi’s film I Was a Simple Man, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival as an entry in its U.S. Dramatic Competition. It tells the story of a Japanese man named Masao Matsuyoshi (Steve Iwamoto) who is dying of cancer. As he reaches his final days on Earth, he welcomes the ghosts of his past into his home to comfort him. One of these ghosts is that of Grace (Constance Wu), his deceased wife. Meanwhile, his grandson Gavin (Kanoa Goo) is assigned by his mother Kati (Chanel Akiko Hirai) to take care of his distant yet ailing grandfather.
This is a story that might sound very familiar to you if you have any relation to the Hawaiian islands. Part of the Aloha Spirit is a strong commitment to family, which can be shown multiple times throughout I Was a Simple Man. Family gatherings (before the pandemic, anyways) were large and everyone looked out for each other when a member fell ill. No matter what resentments or grudges you might have against a member of your family, Hawaiians never give up on them.
Masao’s family feels the same way. Although they would rather not tend all day to their dying patriarch (Gavin calls his mother to tell her that tending to Masao is freaking him out), they know they have to because he will become another ancestor that guides their family’s history. Many other movies that tackle similar subjects like familial death seem to lack this part of grief, and it was refreshing to see it represented here.
As Masao begins his transition to the afterlife, he is greeted with visions of his past. These show him as flawed and oftentimes arrogant as he remembers his regrets, and the combined talents of Iwamoto, Tim Chiou, and Kyle Kosaki accomplish this perfectly as they portray Masao in different stages of his life. Wu also shines as the ghost of Grace, living up to her character’s name as she delivers a performance that is both mysterious and welcoming in her relatively short screen time.
Masao wishes that he could do and see things differently, such as be with Grace when she unexpectedly dies. He wishes that he could do better for his children instead of constantly placing them in the care of one of their aunts. However, he understands that he made his decisions and that to achieve a peaceful afterlife, he has to accept his mistakes. This initial refusal to accept his mistakes is arguably the real conflict of the film and it is beautifully conveyed through the meticulously composed cinematography.
At the same time, however, these visions of the past that are guiding him towards the future are where plot holes become more apparent. It is shown that on the day Grace was buried, the islands of Hawai’i became a state in what continues to be a highly controversial decision. That day was August 21st, 1959, and Kati was shown to be a young child at this time. This could be a turn-off for, particularly nit-picky viewers, as Kati in the modern-day should technically be older than she is supposed to be.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the film, however, is that it focuses on an East Asian family instead of a Native Hawaiian family. While Natives are somewhat included in the film, they are mostly relegated to background characters or symbols. This is strange considering that a common occurrence throughout the movie is the Hawaiian lands house ancestral Native spirits. Whether or not this is a misappropriation of Native Hawaiian beliefs is a discussion that might not have a clearly defined answer, as Asian settler colonialism on the islands has a difficult and complicated history. Although it is for the best that Yogi drew from his history as a person of Japanese descent, it could have been more impactful from a Native lens.
Despite this unclear and complicated focus, I Was a Simple Man is a beautiful film about accepting your mistakes to move on to the other side. It is so close to perfection that it is a bit frustrating that its familial focus pushes Native Hawaiians to the background. The heart-wrenching performances and stunning beauty does not entirely mitigate this oversight, but it is still a movie that will make you appreciate the time you and the people you love have spent together.
Update: We would like to clarify that two feature actors are played by Hapa (mixed) Hawaiians. We would also like to confirm Kati’s age range as being in her mid 50’s.
