Cane Fire

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Cane Fire

Released May 20, 2022

1h 30m

Documentary

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15 Reviews

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The Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi is seen as a paradise of leisure and pristine natural beauty, but these escapist fantasies obscure the colonial displacement, hyper-exploitation of workers, and destructive environmental extraction that have actually shaped life on the island for the last 250 years. Cane Fire critically examines the island's history--and the various strategies by which Hollywood has represented it--through four generations of director Anthony Banua-Simon's family, who first immigrated to Kauaʻi from the Philippines to work on the sugar plantations. Assembled from a diverse array of sources--from Banua-Simon's observational footage, to amateur YouTube travelogues, to epic Hollywood dance sequences--Cane Fire offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the economic and cultural forces that have cast Indigenous and working-class residents as "extras" in their own story.

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Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

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

Jun 8, 2022

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Robert Daniels

RogerEbert.com

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

Rated: 3.5/4

May 20, 2022

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Carlos Aguilar

TheWrap

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.

May 19, 2022

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Paul Emmanuel Enicola

The Movie Buff

Equal parts experimental, incisive, critical, and emotional, “Cane Fire” is [Anthony Banua-Simon’s] earnest attempt to correct the perception of Hawaiian identity that continues to be perpetrated by popular culture.

Rated: B

Jul 4, 2024

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Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

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.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 9, 2022

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George Elkind

Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

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.

Jun 23, 2022

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Anthony Banua-Simon

Director

Anthony Banua-Simon

Writer

Michael Vass

Writer

Anthony Banua-Simon

Producer

Michael Vass

Producer

Steve Holmgren

Executive Producer

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Cane Fire: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi is seen as a paradise of leisure and pristine natural beauty, but these escapist fantasies obscure the colonial displacement, hyper-exploitation of workers, and destructive environmental extraction that have actually shaped life on the island for the last 250 years. Cane Fire critically examines the island's history--and the various strategies by which Hollywood has represented it--through four generations of director Anthony Banua-Simon's family, who first immigrated to Kauaʻi from the Philippines to work on the sugar plantations. Assembled from a diverse array of sources--from Banua-Simon's observational footage, to amateur YouTube travelogues, to epic Hollywood dance sequences--Cane Fire offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the economic and cultural forces that have cast Indigenous and working-class residents as "extras" in their own story.

Director: Anthony Banua-Simon
Producer: Anthony Banua-Simon, Michael Vass
Screenwriter: Anthony Banua-Simon, Michael Vass
Distributor: The Cinema Guild
Production Co: Steady Orbits
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 20, 2022, Limited
Runtime: 1h 30m

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