One of these days I will make it to Hawaii.  When I do, it will be Aloha (2015) meaning “hello,” and when I leave it will be “goodbye,” you know, in case you did not have the dual definition of the Hawaiian word.  In the meantime, there are movies like 50 First Dates (2004).  However, since I have seen that a dozen times and reviewed it, it is time to explore other options.  That is why I said greetings to Aloha, though I am pretty sure I had bid it farewell in the cinema when it premiered.  I probably saw it then because it has Emma Stone in it as the eager and effervescent Captain Allison Ng, fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.  When I go to the fiftieth state, it will not be as member of the American military, but to see a place that has captured my imagination for many years.  Such feelings are evident in the movie.

I am not sure why Aloha chose to intersperse vintage home motion picture projections with stock footage of the military industrial complex with the opening credits.  I get it to a certain degree because after this is finished, we see Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper), once a rising star in the armed forces, landing in a military transport plane.  I guess it is supposed to be a sort of homecoming.  He is now a contractor with billionaire satellite maker Carson Welch (Bill Murray), who is working with the government in Hawaii to put a new device into orbit.  So, yes, Hawaii and the military go hand-in-hand, but this is modern times, not the 1950s.  Anyway, the plane carrying Brian is piloted by Major John “Woody” Woodside (John Krasinski).  This is significant because he is married to Tracy Woodside (Rachel McAdams), Brian’s ex-girlfriend and the woman with whom he unwittingly had a daughter.  That was thirteen years ago, and the last time he had been on the island.  Brian and Tracy notice each other when he lands, but he is quickly approached by his military liaison, Captain Ng, who is to accompany him while he is in Hawaii.  Not only is she perky, but being part Hawaiian, has a keen interest in the native culture.  This last aspect is on full display as Brian’s first task is to approach Dennis “Bumpy” Kanahele (as himself), king of the Hawaiian people, for permission to put satellites in the sky over King Kanahele’s land.  Brian is friendly with the king, but has a more business-like approach, whereas Captain Ng connects with the culture.  The result is the obtaining of the king’s blessing in exchange for certain concessions on the part of the government.  In the process, Brian and Captain Ng share a moment that is the beginning of an attraction to one another, despite an initial annoyance between them.  Because of this, Brian brings Captain Ng with him as a guest to have dinner at the Woodside residence.  While there, Brian and Tracy have a moment together in the kitchen, with her airing the grievances she had for why their relationship did not work out as she hoped, though not in a confrontational manner.  After dinner, Brian, Captain Ng, Major Woodside, and Tracy all go for a Christmas party on the base with several other officers and military personnel among the revelers.  While there, Brian is approached by Bob Largent (Bill Camp), who slips a flash drive into Brian’s shirt pocket.  Back in his hotel room, we see him look at the contents.  It appears to be a weapon’s system that he and Captain Ng had expressly told King Kanahele would not be a part the orbiter Carson plans to launch.  Brian knows this would be devastating for the earnest Captain Ng, so he conceals it from her when she comes over to his hotel room.  She does by first saying that she does not want to end up as a sticker on his computer, which is code in his parlance for a one-night stand.  Either way, it never turns out well, but I will save my full Catholic commentary for later.  It also does not help when Captain Ng finds out about the mysterious payload being delivered to Carson’s launcher.  Feeling betrayed, she confronts Brian on the verge of him telling Captain Ng that he is in love with her.  Things are not going well for Tracy, either.  Noticing a change in attitude since Brian’s arrival, Major Woodside leaves because he is also feeling pressure from Tracy to be more communicative.  It is true that Brian’s presence is causing Tracy stress, but it is because she has yet to tell him about their daughter, Grace (Danielle Rose Russell).  The admission comes on the last day Brian is in Hawaii, and hours before he is set to oversee the launch of Carson’s satellite.  Captain Ng is also at said event, and she makes one last appeal to Brian as the rocket delivers its cargo past the atmosphere.  Seeing her devastation finally convinces him that he has to do something.  With a few keystrokes, he is able to get the satellite to spiral out of control and tear itself apart.  Carson is furious, promising to make sure Brian never works again.  The officer in charge of the project, General Dixon (Alec Baldwin), is furious because Carson has canceled his contract.  Still, because he did the right thing, he has won back Captain Ng.  While he does not want to ruin her career, he is helped in this manner when it comes out that Carson was, indeed, putting weapons illegally into his machines.  As such, with a little more encouragement from Tracy, who has Major Woodside come back to her, Brian finds Captain Ng and you have your typical romantic comedy happy ending.

Aloha incorporates a great deal of Hawaiian mythology and spirituality into its story.  As a Catholic hearing it talk at length about respecting the sky, I could not help but compare it to how we think about the physical position of the Divine.  Though it is never discussed in the Bible as a fixed location, we tend to think of God residing in the Heavens, or a place somewhere above us.  Beyond this, I was also reminded of how many Catholic missionaries approached native peoples around the world in their effort to convert them to Christianity.  They interpreted their traditions through the lens of the Faith in order to reveal to them the truth: that God is the One originator of all.  Truth is the key word.  Today, I watched a brief video from Father Mike Schmitz on YouTube about aliens.  What I am interested here is not so much what he has to say about the existence of extraterrestrial beings (which is basically a “who knows?”), but how truth is truth.  Faith tells the truth of the spiritual world.  What Catholicism has said over the centuries is not necessarily that other traditions are evil, unless their practices directly contravene aspects of the Faith.  When God became man in the form of Jesus, he only appeared to one set of people in one part of the world.  That is what Christianity is based on, but since then we have come to accept that He has worked in other ways throughout history.  This is not to say that religion is an “anything goes” proposition.  Instead, what I am suggesting is that the kind of spirituality covered in a movie like this one, while interesting, is incomplete without an acknowledgement of God and the rest of the tradition that goes with it.

I would also briefly mention what I took as a pro-life message in Aloha.  Many other women in Tracy’s position would have aborted Grace.  This would have robbed us of the sweet scenes to which we are treated after Brian learns the truth of his parentage.  For this, and not so much elements of Brian’s relationship with Captain Ng, I will say that this is decent date night material.