Tetiaroa and Brando: a love story
Caroline Hall keeps her most precious treasure in her purse: a photograph . In it, a handsome man is escorted by two women of a different generation. "I'm the one on the left," Caroline points out with a mischievous smile, aware of her youthful beauty. “The one on the right is my mother and the one in the center is Marlon Brando, a day at the beach. This photograph was taken the same day he discovered Tetiaroa” she says.
Caroline is the granddaughter of James Norman Hall, an American writer who came to Tahiti in the early 20th century. There she came across the story of the Bounty, an English ship that suffered a mutiny on the island and about which she ended up writing a novel. From there she quickly jumped to theaters.
Caroline Hall and her treasure: a photo with Brando
Marlon Brando arrived in Tahiti in 1960 , during the Hollywood pre-production of the second adaptation of the successful book. He was already a star and the spotlights and the entertainment of Los Angeles began to sour an increasingly complex and distrustful character. Brando was the big bet of the film, the one responsible for giving life to the charismatic and young captain. His initial idea was simple and did not exceed the limits of his routine: arrive, roll and leave. It was then that Polynesian exoticism and eroticism first captivated him, then made him fall in love to end up rooting him beyond life.
“Marlon had arrived a few days before to document himself, to find out a little more about the history of the Bounty. That's why he turned to us, so that my mother would tell him about my father's research”, says Caroline from the porch of the house-museum dedicated to her grandfather, in Arue. “During a break we went by boat to the outskirts of the Tetiaroa atoll. From afar he was captivated by its inner lake, its exuberant virgin nature. From that moment on, he became infatuated with the place and did not stop until he could buy it” she adds.
We are not surprised by falling in love
The atoll was not the only thing that caught the interpreter. As in the novel, in which Captain Fletcher falls in love with the hip movements of the local princess Maimiti, Brando was taken in by the beauty of a dancer, named Tarita . During breaks in filming, the actor was looking for matchmakers, matchmakers who would get him a date with that impromptu actress. The whim exceeded the limits of stubbornness and in the end Tarita accepted a date that, over time, led to a tortuous marriage with children.
This union was the icing on the cake, the final argument that the superstar needed to convince the local government to sell him the natural paradise of Tetiaroa. Brando claimed that her only goal was to preserve it, to take care of it, to keep it away from the frantic construction fever that had already broken out on Tahiti Nui, Moorea, and Bora Bora. But who could trust a showbiz Yankee? Until he showed that his intentions were pure with his wedding, he didn't achieve what he longed for.
Tarita and Marlon Brando
While the story with Tarita deteriorated due to a combination of the night, alcohol and emotional instability, the relationship with Tetiaroa and Tahiti grew stronger over time. “Marlon Brando loved these islands because people here really loved him . They did not look for any benefit in him, they only appreciated and admired him, ”says Richard Bailey, CEO of the Pacific Beachcomber hotel company. “Here he was himself, he felt that he could trust people. He used to come to Tahiti and go to Tetiaroa because he felt it was the place where people didn't lie to him.
Richard Bailey and Marlon Brando became friends during the stays of the latter in Polynesia. “Marlon was obsessed with the future of his island. He had taken care of her, but he didn't trust his heirs to do so." . It was then that the idea arose to build an eco-sustainable, oil-free hotel in a part of Tetiaroa. “For me it was a true utopia, I couldn't think of where to get the energy needed for the air conditioners, the light and all the electricity that a resort needs. But it was documented and he showed me the studies of numerous scientists who deciphered how energy could be generated taking advantage of the movements of the sea”, he recalls.
The death of Marlon Brando in 2004 did not stop his plans for the island . In his own will he ruled that a third of it was going to be destined for eco-sustainable hotel use. It was when he started the Tetiaroa Project with more force, an ambitious plan to ensure that all the dreams of the late artist are respected and put into practice. By the end of this year it is expected that this complex of 35 luxury villas that do not betray respect for the planet . The Brando complex will be powered by natural energies. The rooms will be separated so that the human impact is controllable. In addition, a foundation that bears his name will be in charge of ensuring that the enthusiastic spirit of the actor's last years infects this new place. This is the last gift of a genius to the world, a piece of paradise to understand why, sometimes, progress is too voracious for the most sensitive souls.