In the film the princess (played by Q'orianka Kilcher) has already been orphaned and now faces the prospect of working as a servant in England rather than remain in her home country to protect it. Later, accompanied by her Aunt Queen Liliukalani she began a campaign to restore Hawaii’s independence that included delivering speeches in New York and writing appeals to President McKinley and Congress to relent in their bid to annex their nation. The film Princess Ka’iulani debuted at the Hawaii International Film Festival in October of 2009.    

     The name Ka’iulani refers to "the sacred one" once translated. In the film the princess is forced to live as a virtual servant in England and is the object of the derisive scorn of many of the young servant girls. The transition for her is unnerving. Going from being beloved royalty with a kind heart and a beautiful spirit to having to obey cruel women who are not nobility is a bitter pill indeed. It is fascinating how similar the actress playing the Ka’iulani looks compared with the deceased stateswoman. After a time of adjustment, she falls in love with the dashing Clive Davies (played by Shaun Evans). The crown princess is faced with a life dilemma when her Uncle the King dies. She has to choose between remaining in England with her lover or helping support Queen Liliuokalani in the Hawaiian people’s quest for sovereignty and freedom.

     The cinematography is brilliant throughout the film. The beaches are as pristine as one can imagine in their wildest dreams for a calming vacation. The romance scenes are well-orchestrated as the emotion rises to the surface like boiling water in an undersized cauldron. The struggle for Hawaiian independence is revealing and gripping since it is a true historical moment that happened in American history. Hawaii was the unfortunate victim of colonial and imperial expansion at the turn on the century. U.S. national opinion bended toward expansion and imperial uplift. Hawaiians were look on as less civilized and in need of Christianizing. The rhetoric of that time period dictated American cultural and social expansion to unseen areas of the globe. The less public and more governmental motivation had never been to improve civilizations but to establish naval refueling stations and a foothold in the far East for commercial purposes. Battles erupted between the expansionists and the anti-imperialists in the hallowed halls of Congress but in the end the annexation of Hawaii won the day.

     The story of Princess Kai is a beautiful one and she has by most been regarded as a lovely woman with great courage and bravery. The film portrays this succinctly. For those interested in historical movies Princess Ka’iulani is a must see.