I Was a Simple Man

Play trailer

1:38

I Was a Simple Man

2021

1h 40m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

I Was A Simple Man is a ghost story set in the pastoral countryside of the north shore of O'ahu, Hawai'i. Revealed in four chapters, it tells the story of an elderly man facing the end of his life, visited by the ghosts of his past. Incorporating familial history and mythology, dream logic and surrealism, I Was a Simple Man is a time-shifting, kaleidoscopic story of a fractured family facing the death of their patriarch that will take us from the high-rises of contemporary Honolulu to pre-WWII pastorals of O'ahu and, finally, into the beyond.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

I Was a Simple Man tells a simple story whose deceptively straightforward approach yields richly melancholic rewards.

Read Critics Reviews

Michael Rechtshaffen

Los Angeles Times

12/03/2021

A stirring, melancholic portrait of an ailing, elderly patriarch grappling with his encroaching mortality.

Go to Full Review

Roxana Hadadi

RogerEbert.com

11/19/2021

3.5/4

A 100-minute spell of beauty and melancholy, intimate and grand in equal measure.

Go to Full Review

Wes Greene

Slant Magazine

11/15/2021

The film's quietly uncanny narrative wondrously depicts not only a dying man's reflection on his life, but also the very nature of Hawaii itself.

Go to Full Review

Nuha Hassan

The UnderSCENE

07/20/2023

I Was A Simple Man is layered and reveals a lot more as the movie progresses, and there is so much to unpack.

Go to Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

11/28/2022

Two features in, Yogi’s still expanding his emotional and stylistic range for something that’s more often hypnotic than clumsy.

Go to Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/17/2022

4/5

Yogi turns something personal into a uniquely ethereal look at mortality, repression, and reckoning with the sins of your past. But it’s the perspective that’s distinct. Yogi tells the bulk of his story through the mind of a dying man.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

nohealani

11/24/2021

How wonderful. Very touching, true, heartfelt. Proud of Yama👏👏🙏🏼 Mahalo Ke Akua for hearing your calling. Mahalo nunui loa for kākoʻo Kanaka maoli a pau loa creativity.

See more

dave d

@RT34924333 04/13/2022

Christopher Makoto Yogi's film isn't for everyone. It has a subtle elegance, and explores loss and death in a meticulous way. It's scored beautifully and the Hawaiian scenery is unmatched, but there is a lot for the viewer to decipher and often the spoken words are so low and sometimes indistinguishable. Young viewers will likely be lost, but the patient older watcher will be rewarded with an emotional experience. While the actors elevate the film, the script just wasn't where it needed to be. Seeing the same character at different ages in the same scene does take some getting used to. I found myself rewinding a few times just so I wasn't totally lost. A more positive than not mixed bag! Final Score: 6.5/10

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Christopher Makoto Yogi

Director

Steve Iwamoto

Masao Matsuyoshi

Constance Wu

Grace

Tim Chiou

Adult Masao

Kanoa Goo

Gavin

Chanel Akiko Hirai

Kati

A Light Never Goes Out

100%

%

A Light Never Goes Out

Watchlist

TRAILER

for A Light Never Goes Out

Walkaway Joe

%

63%

Walkaway Joe

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Walkaway Joe

All Day and a Night

54%

60%

All Day and a Night

Watchlist

TRAILER

for All Day and a Night

You Will Die at Twenty

89%

84%

You Will Die at Twenty

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

I Was a Simple Man: Trailer 1

1:38

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

I Was A Simple Man is a ghost story set in the pastoral countryside of the north shore of O'ahu, Hawai'i. Revealed in four chapters, it tells the story of an elderly man facing the end of his life, visited by the ghosts of his past. Incorporating familial history and mythology, dream logic and surrealism, I Was a Simple Man is a time-shifting, kaleidoscopic story of a fractured family facing the death of their patriarch that will take us from the high-rises of contemporary Honolulu to pre-WWII pastorals of O'ahu and, finally, into the beyond.

Director: Christopher Makoto Yogi
Producer: Christopher Makoto Yogi, Sarah S. Kim, Matthew Petock, Yamato Cibulka
Screenwriter: Christopher Makoto Yogi
Distributor: Strand Releasing
Production Co: Island Film Group, Simple Man, Flies Collective
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 2021, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.6K
Runtime: 1h 40m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)