Kon-Tiki (2012)

The story of legendary explorer Thor Heyerdal's epic 4,300 miles crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947, in an effort prove it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.

Directors:

Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg

Writers:

Petter Skavlan, Allan Scott (script consultant)

Stars:

Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Gustaf Skarsgård

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pål Sverre Hagen	...	Thor Heyerdahl
Anders Baasmo Christiansen	...	Herman Watzinger
Tobias Santelmann	...	Knut Haugland
Gustaf Skarsgård	...	Bengt Danielsson
Odd Magnus Williamson	...	Erik Hesselberg (as Odd-Magnus Williamson)
Jakob Oftebro	...	Torstein Raaby
Agnes Kittelsen	...	Liv Heyerdahl
Peter Wight	...	Spinden
Amund Hellum Noraker	...	Bamse
Eilif Hellum Noraker	...	Thor Jr.
Elisabeth Matheson	...	Allison
Kasper Ameberg Johnsen	...	Thor 6 yrs.
Edward Kling	...	Erik 7 yrs.
Jo Adrian Haavind	...	Journalist
Jonas Heier Straumsheim	...	Photographer

Storyline

The Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Pacific ocean in a balsa wood raft in 1947, together with five men, to prove that South Americans already back in pre-Columbian times could have crossed the sea and settle on Polynesian islands. After financing the trips with loans and donations they set off on an epic 101 days long trip across 8000 kilometers, while the world was waiting for the result of the trip. The film tells about the origin of the idea, the preparations and the events on the trip. Kon-Tiki was named after the Inca sun god, Viracocha, and "Kon-Tiki" is an old name for this god. Heyerdahl filmed the expedition, which later became the Acaemy award winning documentary in 1951, and wrote a book about the expedition which was translated into 70 languages and sold more than 50 millions copies around the world. Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times, although most anthropologists now believe they did not. ...

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Plot Keywords:

pacific | ocean | expedition | raft | pacific ocean | 

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Taglines:

Real adventure has no limits.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a disturbing violent sequence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Germany]

Country:

UK Norway Denmark Germany Sweden

Language:

Norwegian English French Swedish

Release Date:

26 April 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Expedição Kon Tiki

Filming Locations:

Lillehammer, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

$16,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$22,168 (USA) (26 April 2013)

Gross:

$1,212,236 (USA) (14 June 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Roenbergfilm, Nordisk Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's producer, Jeremy Thomas, had wanted to make the film since 1996 and was granted the rights to the story by Thor Heyerdahl before the latter's death in 2002.

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Goofs

It is not true that every 13th wave is larger then the others, as claimed in the film. In fact, there exists no pattern in wave sizes. In the original Kon-Tiki documentary from 1950, the people on the raft simply wait for a wave big enough to carry them over the reef. They don't "plan" which wave to take.

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Quotes

Torstein Raaby: And only a hundred days to go.

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Crazy Credits

Ahead of the closing credits, short clips are shown where original footage shot by Heyerdahl is being re-enacted by the Kon-Tiki actors (urinating over board at open sea, dancing with natives under palms, portraits and the like). Along with this, brief notes of each crew member's path of life after the trip are given.

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Connections

Featured in The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2013)

User Reviews

Thrilling, Lavishly Mounted and Hugely Accessible

A nominee for Best Foreign Language Picture at this year's Oscars, Norwegian import Kon-Tiki chronicles the journey of adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and his incredible journey some 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Polynesia on a balsa wood raft. Though comparisons will inevitably be drawn between this film and Ang Lee's Life of Pi, a fellow Oscar nominee, they are very different beasts and are both films deserving of attention.

If nothing else, Kon-Tiki (the name of the aforementioned vessel) adds to the impressive list of superb films from Scandinavia this past year. From Headhunters (one of my favourites of 2012) to the overlooked Snabba cash (Easy Money), fare from this region has never been more accessible or memorable.

So now comes Kon-Tiki, the first Norwegian film to score both a nomination at the Golden Globe and Academy Award ceremonies, and it's rather easy to see why. This sweeping journey appeals squarely to Hollywood sensibilities, twisting up an epic, historical adventure about overcoming the odds, with human drama. Though this intentional slanting may take some of the complexity and grit out of the film in the end, praise is abundantly deserved for all those involved.

Chief on that list is filmmaking duo Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, best known previously for the Luc Besson-produced Bandidas with Penelope Cruz and Selma Hayek, who craft something lavish and visually sumptuous out of this trek, despite the hurdle of being endowed with a budget of just $16 million.

By recreating Heyerdahl's raft, shooting out over the deep and using special effects only as infrequent enhancements rather than a crutch, these two lay the authenticity on thick and in doing so generate tension and wonder (sometimes simultaneously) like you wouldn't imagine. Kon- Tiki, though never overtly stealing, mirrors the most effective aspects of films like Cast Away, Jaws and Mutiny on the Bounty.

When Rønning and Sandberg aren't capturing sweeping, stunning shots of the Pacific (and the tiny boat at its mercy) they are letting the camera rest on the diminutive aspects of the voyage, at least so when compared to the grandness of what's around them. The ropes lashing together the massive balsa wood beams strain and groan in the water, summoning us back to an earlier scene where two sailors warn Heyerdahl that a raft of that nature will inevitably break apart with the movement of the logs. Sharks silently circle and the boat slowly crumbles as the wood absorbs seawater. These quiet moments are as unnerving as anything you'll see on the big screen.

Likewise, there are grander, more elaborate moments that drip with tension all the same, as when storms hit, men are cast overboard, and once again sharks, though proving to be one of the lesser threats in the scheme of things, use their mythos alone to chill to the bone. If not as complex as it could have been, Kon-Tiki is certainly never dull.

The cast of unknown actors are also strong, even if by the time the credits role their sporting of Grizzly Adams-like beards makes identifying between some of these brave men difficult. Leading the way as the driven Heyerdahl is – wait for this one – Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen, anchoring (no pun intended) the film as a man intent on proving his settlement theory to sceptical scholars. Joining him is engineer (and refrigerator salesman) Herman Watzinger (Anders Baasmo Christiansen) navigator Erik Hesselberg (Odd Magnus Williamson) ethnographer Bengt Danielsson (Gustaf Skarsgård) and two soldiers acting as radio men Knut Haugland and Torstein Raaby (Tobias Santelmann and Jakob Oftebro respectively).

Together, crammed together like sardines, they make the 101-day journey, each bringing not only their respective skill-sets but demons as well. Those versed in Heyerdahl's novel or the documentary of the voyage (the winner of the 1950 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature) may cry afoul at some of the changes that have been made in service to crafting a more dramatic effort, particularly tweaks to the Watzinger character, but they will in no way impact how most will respond to Kon-Tiki.

Though not as weighty or viscerally lasting as some fare that pops up in the Best Foreign Language Film category, it is, however, infinitely accessible to anyone who usually turns their nose up at that particular segment of the ceremony. Kon-Tiki is a strong import, fascinating and thrilling in equal measure and a film that is just as much about the perils of nature as it is about the gratification that comes with conquering it.