Princess Kaiulani, the last heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii, makes a perfectly smashing subject for a biopic. Young, graceful, beautiful and revered by her people, she embodied both the hope of her country and the Victorian etiquette of Great Britain, where she spent several years in exile in the late 19th century.

"Princess Kaiulani" attempts to do her justice. It succeeds in part, presenting its heroine as a courageous, impassioned advocate for sovereignty and civil rights when American interests were busy muscling Hawaiians toward annexation. It's also beautifully shot, sun-kissed and meticulous with period detail. But as Kaiulani's story, it falls flat, having collapsed under the weight of the genre's mushier conventions. There are too many swooping violins, too many trite generalizations, too few moments that throw a light on history and turn it into art.

Directed, produced and co-written by British filmmaker Marc Forby, "Princess Kaiulani" opens with a long hunk of narration outlining the dappled girlhood and future role of one Victoria Ka`iulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn. （英文影评）The daughter of a short-lived princess (a sister to the queen) and a Scottish financier, Kaiulani is portrayed by the Q'orianka Kilcher - whom eagle-eyed viewers will recognize as Pocahontas from Terrence Malick's "The New World."

Kilcher has the gift of expressing grief in her eyes and presenting a regal bearing that suits her better in the scenes in Hawaii and the White House than in her romantic trysts with a dashing Briton (Shaun Evans).

There isn't a whole lot of meat here; despite a few evocative scenes, much of the plot is fluff. At the beginning, Kaiulani is happily ensconced in Hawaii. Then a coup occurs, and she's semi-happily ensconced in Britain. But political machinations and continued violent upheaval on her distant island home endanger that semi-happiness, arousing the fierce love of a princess for her people.

The original title for "Princess Kaiulani" was the pointedly shocking "Barbarian Princess," a direct reference to the prejudice of the time. The film itself addresses some of that bigotry - and some of the tensions facing a young Hawaiian princess. It's a minor look at a much-cherished figure in history.