Finding Ohana review: Netflix has made a gripping version of Goonies

Netflix recently tried its hand at tailoring superhero and espionage movies, so it’s fitting that its next kid-friendly adventure follows another worn-out genre: the treasure hunt. In the tradition of the 1985 treasure hunt classic The Goonies, ‘Ohana vind follows a group of children who face a series of dangers as they search for a secret pirate treasure. But director Jude Weng gives an updated twist to the idea by transforming the greatest interest in children’s family dramas and adding specific notes about the Hawaiian culture that defines the characters.

Although the film stretches itself too thin with some plot points and adds unnecessary conflict, ‘Ohana vind uses his search for a sweet story about reconnecting with family and culture.

[Ed. Note: This review contains slight spoilers for Finding ’Ohana.]

Photo: Jennifer Rose Clasen / Netflix

The family journey began when 12-year-old geocaching enthusiast Pili (Kea Peahu) and her mother Leilani (Kelly Hu) and her older brother Ioane (Alex Aiono) ended up in Hawaii after her grandfather, Papa (Branscombe Richmond), had a heart attack. Although Pili and Ioane were both born in Hawaii, they lived most of their lives in Brooklyn. Leilani is worried about her father, but has had an unresolved tension with him since she left the island years ago, after her husband’s death.

Pili was initially disappointed with the trip because it kept her from the geocaching camp. But then she discovers an old journal outlining the hidden treasure. Together with the cheerful animal lover Casper (Owen Vaccaro) and the responsible teenager Hana (Lindsay Watson), Pili and Ioane begin to search for the lost fortune in the hope that it may save their grandfather’s land from negativity.

The intricate family dynamics center the film, though some conflicts are more relevant than others. The strongest threads eventually come from the characters that make up the bulk of the movie. After a second accident, Papa is bedridden and he and Leilani fight over what it means for his future, while Ioane and Pili have to fix their differences while on a dangerous quest. These bows gain nuances and weight, without being clear or wrong. In the end, the family members understood each other a little better. Ioane and Pili feel like real brothers and sisters, from the very specific things they tease each other to the way they physically fight. The treasure hunt is important for the movie, but the family dynamics give ‘Ohana vind his heart.

Less flexible, however, is the disconnection between Leilani and her children. The film hints that it has to do with their deceased father, but while Ioane calls his mother because she did not spend enough time with them at home and throws herself to work, it is never even clear what her job is. is not. Ioane and Pili feel betrayed that their mother would consider selling their Brooklyn apartment without consulting them, while Leilani feels guilty for leaving her father behind. That alone would be weighty enough, without the absent, work-obsessed mother, who feels like it was added to further complicate the emotions. But because the kids give most of the film away from their mother, their problems are not so neatly solved.

Photo: Colleen E. Hayes / Netflix

As for the treasure hunt itself, just like in 2019 Dora and the lost city of gold, ‘Ohana vind succeeds in retaining the thrill of the archaeological adventure genre, but also explores its ugly aspects. As fun as the treasure hunt in adventures like the Indiana Jones and The Mummy film franchises, it does rely on desecrating graves and stealing artifacts from other cultures. In ‘Ohana vind, it is nicely undermined: Pili and her friends want to find the treasure to save her grandfather’s land, but realize the glory and wealth that is not important.

They find the hidden cave from the journal, and their journey is full of natural obstacles and bullies, creepy spiders and ghostly skeletons. As Pili, Ioane, Hana and Casper venture through the cave, they bond and argue and eventually put the full story together behind the hidden treasure. It is satisfying to see how their jokes develop. And in the end, Weng finds a way to make the discovery in the adventure – the characters deal with the effects of obstacles in places they should not, and eventually learn more about their own Hawaiian culture.

The film works best when it focuses on two things: the treasure hunt and the family story. They bond together beautifully, while the brothers and sisters learn more about local legends and customs and each other through their adventure. But there are a handful of redundant plot points that are not handled neatly. Ioane finds a secret Juilliard application in Hana’s car, which immediately disappears from the storyline, and is then raised for three seconds in the third act of the movie and then falls again. Eventually, though, they smuggle in, because sure, why add a random teen romance? Most of the treasure hunt is exciting, but a pair of shoes with a shoe hair – like a deadly spider bite – detracts from the overall mission. Weng and stretch the film too thin on points, if it is to be just the core points of the film.

Because in the end, ‘Ohana vind is not about those extra plot points. Heck, it’s not even about finding treasure. It’s about reconnecting with family and discovering a cultural heritage. That cultural specificity distinguishes it from treasure hunting movies of the past, where the excitement of hunting came from the glory of wealth; in ‘Ohana vind, Hawaiian cultural customs and legends color the fun, but also reinforce the family themes. Weng mostly weaves adventure and sentimentality together, but when it comes down to it, ‘Ohana vind works as it focuses on the core of the ohana.

‘Ohana vind streaming on Netflix now.