He made the South Seas a great part of his life. Clearly this story comes out of the books he read and the things he learned about the seas during his time out there. He was also crazy about Asian women.
I'd say where he is now he's in a pretty amused state, and I hope he'd look down on it fondly with a smile. Everyone involved has tried to produce the book (Brando and Cammell) would have.