Kon-Tiki (2012)

Legendary explorer Thor Heyerdahl's epic 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsawood raft in 1947, in an effort to prove that it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.

Directors:

Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg

Writer:

Petter Skavlan

Stars:

Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Gustaf Skarsgård

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pål Sverre Hagen	...	Thor Heyerdahl (as Pål Hagen)
Anders Baasmo Christiansen	...	Herman Watzinger
Tobias Santelmann	...	Knut Haugland
Gustaf Skarsgård	...	Bengt Danielsson
Odd-Magnus Williamson	...	Erik Hesselberg
Jakob Oftebro	...	Torstein Raaby
Agnes Kittelsen	...	Liv Heyerdahl
Peter Wight	...	Spinden
Amund Hellum Noraker	...	Bamse
Eilif Hellum Noraker	...	Thor Jr.
Elisabeth Matheson	...	Allison
Kasper Arneberg Johnsen	...	Thor 6 yrs. (as Kasper Ameberg Johnsen)
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 balsawood raft in 1947, together with five men, to prove that South Americans back in pre-Columbian times could have crossed the ocean and settled on Polynesian islands. After financing the trips with loans and donations, they set off on an epic 101-day-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. The "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 Academy Award winning documentary in 1951, and he wrote a book about the expedition that 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 | based on true story | ocean crossing | ocean | expedition | 

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Taglines:

Real adventure has no limits.

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a disturbing violent sequence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tobias Santelmann (Knut Haugland), Pål Sverre Hagen (Thor Heyerdahl) and Anders Baasmo Christiansen (Herman Watzinger) also worked together on Out Stealing Horses (2019).

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Goofs

When Bengt tells Thor about terrible water streams near Galapagos islands, he shows him a book with an illustration. But the book he shows has nothing to do with Galapagos - it is a drawing by Harry Clarke made for a 1919 reprint of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "A Descent into the Maelström", and shows an exaggerated portrayal of the Moskstraumen whirlpool near Lofoten archipelago, Norway.

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Quotes

Thor Heyerdahl: I've heard that drowning is the best way to die.
Erik Hesselberg: Well, not exactly. You might manage for a minute, until you breathe out of reflex. Your lungs fill with water, you choke. and the acid created by the salt water in your stomach makes it feel like you burn up inside. And it makes your heart kick in, forcing you to breathe again - more water. You lose control, and then you finally die. All in all, three or four minutes.
Thor Heyerdahl: Hold on. What about my life flashing past?
Erik Hesselberg: Yeah, that's the worst part.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Before the closing credits, short clips are shown in which original footage shot by Heyerdahl was reenacted by the "Kon-Tiki" actors: urinating overboard in the open sea, dancing with natives under palms, portraits, and the like. Along with this, brief notes concerning each crew member's path of life after the trip are given.

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Alternate Versions

The original Norwegian cut (119:02 min) differs thus from the International English cut (113:38 min, which is entirely in English):

• A longer walking-toward-the-foreground opening shot (2:08 min), with an almost-post-drowned extension (0:12) at the end of that scene.
• A short (deleted) running naked-to-the-beach extension after the waterfall-skinny-dipping scene at Fatu Hiva. (0:09)
• Extended scenes: pineapple (0:06), jungle-night-trek (0:04), waiting-in-lobby (0:12), publisher-interview (0:10), NY-apartment (0:16), phone-conversation (0:40), meet-the-crew (0:13), raft-loading (0:26, includes introduction of the envelope), and more.
• End-credits are also different: Norwegian runs for 5:24, English for 6:41 min (due to additional English credits).

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Connections

Referenced in Excelsior (2013)

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Soundtracks

Flickan i Havanna
("The girl in Havana")
Lyrics by Evert Taube (as Taube) and music by Horatio R. Palmer (as Palmer)

User Reviews

only flaw to me is the lack of crisis in the script

The plot is about the greatest Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl who changed the course of history about the origin of Polynesians. Thor, along with 5 desperate fellows, set out an 101 day-voyage on a raft across the Pacific ocean to prove his scientific analysis before the world. They avoided all sorts of modern mechanical equipment and crossed almost 8000 kilometers in the vast sea just like primitive people having only the faith of Kon-Tiki, the Inca Sun-God. Acting seems so realistic and engaging to depict this true adventurous history :))) Some camera shots appear aesthetic while score sounds great. However, only flaw to me is the lack of crisis in the script___7/10___

NB: now willing to watch the original Kon-Tiki documentary film, that won Oscar in 1950, directed by Thor Heyerdahl himself during their expedition___:))))

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Germany]

Country:

UK Norway Denmark Germany Sweden

Language:

Norwegian English French Swedish Spanish

Release Date:

26 April 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kon-Tiki

Filming Locations:

Maldives

Box Office

Budget:

$16,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,168, 28 April 2013

Gross USA:

$1,517,410

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,842,887

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1