From the proud statue of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku on the shores of his beloved Waikiki, to photographs of his winning smile, most portrayals of Hawaii’s greatest waterman have focused on the sunny side of his life.
Born Aug. 24, 1890, in Honolulu, the self-taught swimmer became Hawaii’s first Olympic champion, winning two gold and three silver medals for swimming in 1912, 1920 and 1924.
He was celebrated as the father of modern Hawaiian surfing, the international ambassador of the sport and the islands’ ambassador of aloha until he died on Jan. 22, 1968.
But a newly released biopic reveals how little we really knew about this quiet, stoic sportsman.
One of many memorable scenes in “Waterman,” a feature-length documentary that opens in Hawaii theaters Friday, reenacts Kahanamoku’s 1925 rescue of passengers of a fishing boat that capsized in heavy surf off California.
He’s the first to respond, grabbing a surfboard and paddling out from shore, and one can see and feel his energy and hope in the face of Duane DeSoto, who plays Kahanamoku, as well as sorrow and exhaustion as he retrieves the bodies of the dead.
“That trauma stays with you forever,” Native Hawaiian lifeguard and waterman Buffalo Keaulana says in the film, providing commentary along with pioneer surfers Kelly Slater, Fred Hemmings and Laird Hamilton, and first Olympic surfing gold medalist Carissa Moore, who all say Kahanamoku was their hero.
The film, like David Davis’ biography “Waterman,” also shows how Kahanamoku, as a man of color, persisted in representing the islands with dignity and grace throughout a time of blatant racial and cultural discrimination.
Although Kahanamoku, when seeking to qualify for his first Olympics, shattered world swimming records in a meet held in Honolulu Harbor, the Amateur Athletic Union refused to accept his times.
The Hawaii public then donated money to send Kahanamoku to a rematch.
Traveling through the mainland U.S., the Native Hawaiian was frequently refused service in clubs and hotels.
In February 1912, he found himself in the racially segregated Pittsburgh Athletic Club, competing indoors for the first time and unable to finish the race because his legs cramped.
Even at home, Kahanamoku was initially barred from joining the Outrigger Canoe Club, which initially did not admit non-Caucasians.
Although he later became the most emblematic member of the club, which now supports the Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, “it was a complicated relationship,” Hemmings says in the film.
“This movie brings everyone up to speed with the importance Duke played not only for surfing, but in the community at large in a time when people of color were rarely celebrated,” Slater said in a statement after “Waterman” won best documentary at the Florida Film Festival early this year, adding the film is especially “timely given our current civil situation.”
Kahanamoku also struggled for years to make it in Hollywood, but never got a leading role.
Throughout the film, DeSoto carries himself with the athleticism and dignity of its subject, including where he gracefully surfs on a traditional Hawaiian hardwood board modeled after Kahanamoku’s, reenacting parts of his most famous ride, traversing Waikiki’s Mamala Bay on a glorious big-wave, blue-water day.
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“Waterman”
The film will be showing in the following theaters islandwide from Friday through May 9.
>> Consolidated Theatres Oahu: Koko Marina, Kahala, Ward, Pearlridge, Mililani, ‘Olino, Kapolei
>> Consolidated Theatres Maui: Ka‘ahumanu
>> Hawaii Island: Palace Theater (Hilo), Regal Makalapua (Kona)
>> Kauai: Historic Waimea Theater (Waimea)
>> Info: watermanthemovie.com
