Below is a brief script treatment that I worked on in my Summer 2000 film class at Long Beach State. Although most of it is fictional, its historic background is based on the first king of Hawaii, Kamehameha the Great, as well as the battles that took place as he fought to achieve unification of all the Hawaiian Islands. This treatment also deals with two warriors, a husband and his wife, after the husband deserts his wife to fight on the opposing side of the conflict. The actual names of these warriors are Ka'iana and Kekupuohi, but I changed them in my script (to Kian and Kekani) because these names would be too laborious to pronounce when read out loud.I was inspired to write this treatment after my7-day trip to Maui (from May 22 to May 29, 2000).
The year is 1795, and a gloomy haze rides over the shores of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. As King Kamehameha looks on, thousands of his warriors leave the canoes that they arrived on the island in...preparing to gather into battle positions to take on Kalanikupule's troops in the Nu'uanu Valley. With their muskets already armed, Kamehameha's troops prepare to march towards the enemy and begin a battle that the king feels is being fought with a just cause: the unification of all Hawaiian Islands.
To Kamehameha's advantage, the deadly fire of the ali'i--female soldiers in the king's army--inspired awe in the rebel army led by Ka'iana. Interestingly, Ka'iana, as well as two Westerners named John Young and Isaac Davis, taught the ali'i the shooting skills which they possessed. Kekupuohi, one of Kamehameha's ali'i, was the wife of Ka'iana. She was one of the best soldiers in Kamehameha's army. The only thing that could prevent her from being completely effective in battle, the king thought, was her undying loyalty to the man who deserted her to fight on the other side.
With her warrior garb on and her weapon at her side, Kekupuohi watches as the enemy loomed before her on the beach...ready to unleash hell on them as they approached Kamehameha's soldiers. At this moment, Kekupuohi feels a deep sadness inside. Ka'iana, her beloved husband, is fighting on the other side. With an apprehensive feeling inside, she is determined not to make her husband a casualty in this conflict. Hopefully, she thinks quietly to herself, her husband will spare her life if they run into each other in the heat of battle.
Kamehameha watches as his troops utilize newly acquired Western guns and ammunition taken from the trading vessel Jackall. As the battle cry is given, the two warring sides charge towards each other and begin a bloody conflict. While some of the warriors on both sides are using bow and arrows as opposed to muskets, they still inflict huge amounts of devastation on the other side. Kekupuohi watches as combatants on both sides fall by the second. With nothing but her musket, Kekupuohi shows her much-vaunted shooting skills as she picks off rebel soldiers. Much bloodshed is spilled on the shores of Hawaii in this conflict...and thousands of warriors fall off treacherous cliffs and to their deaths as the battle goes from the shores of Hawaii to the valleys within.
As the battle rages on, Kekupuohi continues to attack the opposing soldiers when right in front of her, she watches as Ka'iana is gunned down by another of Kamehameha's warriors. Dropping her musket to the ground, Kekupuohi rushes to her mortally wounded husband and cradles his head in her lap. As a look of anguish suddenly appears on her face, Kekupuohi becomes oblivious to the warfare still taking place around her. She is silent as she weeps over her husband. All around her, Kamehameha's soldiers, the rebel troops and Kalanikupule's warriors continue to fight, but are now cautious as they do not want to disturb the grieving wife and her dying husband...
I was inspired to write this treatment after my 7-day trip to Maui (from May 22 to May 29, 2000).