Honokaa Boy – The Movie

March 3, 2009 admin

I don’t know too much about the movie Honokaa Boy except that parts of it were filmed in Honokaa on the Big Island of Hawaii. My Dad told me about the film late last year, though at the time I don’t think it had a title. Apparently he and some senior citizens in town were hired as extras for a one day shoot. He said he spent most of the day just waiting around (typical of most film and TV shoots) for something to happen. I don’t know if what they recorded of them got into the film. If so, probably a small snippet, but more than likely it all fell on the cutting room floor.

Honokaa Boy made its world premiere debut late last month (February 24) at the Honokaa Peoples’ Theater. From the Big Island Video News site, it reads:

“The Japanese language foreign film, “loosely based” on the book by Leo Yoshida, was filmed in Honokaa in October, and incorporates many of Honokaa’s well known landmarks into the story.

The main character in the film (who visits and falls in love with the small Hawaii town) becomes a projectionist at the Honokaa People’s Theatre. In the film, it is while working at the theatre that the main character befriends and grows close to a seamstress.”

From the trailer above one can see that the ol’ Honokaa Peoples’ Theater is central to this movie’s story. The Big Island Video News goes on to say that the movie has already put Honokaa on the map as Japanese visitors are beginning to come to visit the town to see some of the locations portrayed in the film.

Hopefully Honokaa Boy will show up soon in Honolulu. The movie website indicates a March 14 release date. I’d be interested in watching it. If not then I’ll surely look for a DVD.

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