EVERY DAY IN KAIMUKĪ: A Meditation On The Uncertainty Of “Home”
One of my favorite films of the last five years is one that I saw by chance.
Directed by Alika Tengen, it’s a film that shouldn’t work for me as well as it does. It uses primarily non-professional actors and it meanders: things that I especially wasn’t a fan of when I saw this film in 2022. However, this changed my mind completely, and taught me to be a little less judgmental in that regard.
Every Day in Kaimukī tells the story of a young man, Naz, and his struggle to feel like his life has meaning, especially outside of his home in O’ahu, Hawai’i, where he’s lived his entire life. He has plans with his girlfriend, Sloane, to move to New York for her to pursue an art program, but they’ve been planning to do it for long enough that their friends don’t believe it will actually ever happen. There’s push and pull between the two of them over whether uprooting their lives is what they want to do, but Naz feels desperate for a change: he feels like an outsider in his own home, and wants to know what life might be like off the island. Eventually, Sloane tells him that she doesn’t want to go, and feels they have everything they need right where they are. Naz decides to move on his own, leaving their life behind in Kaimukī.
This film revels in the mundane. It takes place over the span of a couple weeks, where Naz spends time with his friends, working at a community radio station, and selling his belongings off. It meanders around Kaimukī along with Naz, as he tries to find a travel crate for his cat. He and Sloane have intimately felt conversations, but they spend a lot of the time skirting around the question of whether this move is something they both truly want. It shouldn’t work, as it slowly moves through time without a firm force, but it works so well.
When I saw this film for the first time, it was like a breath of fresh air. It was something I didn’t know I wanted to see, and something I didn’t know I’d enjoy. Within a few months of seeing it at virtual Sundance, I scoured the internet to find another virtual film festival showing it, just so I could see it again, finding it at the Atlanta Film Festival. It feels so comforting, especially in it’s eased aesthetics of beautiful sunsets and mesmerizing soundtrack. It’s gorgeously shot, and the handheld quality of many shots doesn’t feel overwrought. Everything about the film draws you in.
Every Day in Kaimukī feels pleasantly spontaneous, which adds up since the film was written in just about a week by Tengen and the lead actor, Naz Kawakami, that wrote this as a semi-autobiographical piece. The ways the characters interact feels so natural, with especially impressive as much of the cast was comprised of non-actors.
This was filmed in the height of the pandemic, and the choice was made not to shy away from that. Half of the scenes take place with face masks on, and this looming pressure of the pandemic plays a role, though maybe not overtly, in the character’s decisions. It was refreshing to see a piece of media represent this reality.
Ultimately, I love this film. I know that it may have it’s weak moments, but those don’t really detract from it for me. It debates this question of where home truly is, and the ways in which home defines who you are. It’s an encapsulation of a time where leaving home didn’t just feel impossible, but was impossible, with lockdowns and travel restrictions keeping everyone inside. It doesn’t come to any conclusions, but rather meditates on this idea, and allows for you to feel along with it.
If I haven’t yet convinced you to watch Every Day in Kaimukī, maybe the fact that it is 80 minutes long or that it is currently available for free on Tubi will. It’s short, sweet, and is one of my favorite comfort watches.
(Also if you’d like to learn more about this film, there’s a great article by Flux interviewing those involved)
