‘A Song of Mourning’ blends realism and the supernatural in a powerful lament about the passing of traditional Hawai’ian culture. The annual Hawai’ian pageant is almost ready for presentation when the director gets called away to Las Vegas. His replacement is a reclusive kumu hula who has been living in a scluded native Hawai’ian settlement. His drinking habits, sexual behaviour, insistence on speaking Hawai’ian, scorn for the ali’i class and disdain for the show’s slick professionalism create resentment and tension among the cast.