KON-TIKI (2012)

Genre: Drama/Adventure
Director: Joachim Roenning, Espen Sandberg
Cast: Pål Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Jakob Oftebro, Tobias Santelmann, Odd-Magnus Williamson, Gustaf Skarsgård, Agnes Kittlesen
RunTime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: PG13 (Brief Nudity and Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films & InnoForm Media
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/kontikifilmen
 
Opening Day: 14 November 2013

Synopsis: 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 gathering financing for the trip with loans and donations, they set off on an epic 101 day-long journey across 8,000 kilometers, all while the world was watching. KON-TIKI tells about the origin of Heyerdahl's idea and the events surrounding the group's voyage.

Movie Review:

Let’s start with the facts. In 1947, a Norwegian explorer by the name of Thor Heyerdahl had the radical notion that the native Polynesians originated from the South American Incas and not Asia. Laughed off by the scientific community, Thor assembled a ragtag crew of six men (including, we might add, a refrigerator salesman), built his own raft using the Incas’ primitive methods and materials, and set out on a 5000-mile drift from Peru to Polynesia. The rest, as they say, is history - Thor successfully completed the journey, his voyage documented by an eager press which he made sure to provide regular updates on, and has since been published into a bestselling book and made into an Oscar-winning documentary by the man himself.

And yet even with knowing the facts, there’s no denying that this first attempt to dramatise that historical voyage is a rippling good yarn. In telling the story of Thor’s foolhardy and yet awe-inspiring scientific experiment, filmmakers Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg have carefully balanced a character study of the man behind the voyage and a gripping man-against-nature adventure. Make no mistake, this isn’t some indie foreign language film; as the most expensive Norwegian film ever produced, it is the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters blessed with gorgeous imagery thanks to location work in Norway, Bulgaria, Thailand and Malta. In short, it is as accessible to a mainstream audience as can be.

While the man himself remains an enigma to this day, Petter Skavlan’s screenplay makes careful inferences based on what is known. The opening vignette introduces us to his fearless nature even as a child, insisting on leaping atop an ice floe despite warnings from his fellow peers, almost drowning as a result. Next, we are brought to 1937 Polynesia where Thor (Pal Hagen) and his young wife, Liv (Agnes Kittlesen), are living with the natives on the Polynesian isle of Fatu Hiva. It is there he develops the idea which will be met with scorn from publishers as well as the National Geographic Society. At least in the first hour, we are taught to believe Thor as a man of determination, one not afraid to risk the odds to stand firm in his beliefs.

Once on the balsa-wood raft, we begin to realise how his doggedness might actually be obstinacy. When the aforementioned salesman Herman (Anders Baasmo Christiansen) pleads with him to reinforce their waterlogged raft with wires, he dumps the box along with the wires into the open sea in a fit of anger. Rather than prep his crew beforehand, he keeps their encounter with a razor-sharp line of reefs right before they make shore a secret till the last minute, forcing makeshift preparations in order to avoid being smashed into the rocks. As much as it pays tribute to its subject’s persistence, it isn’t afraid to recognise how that may easily be construed as faults.

With fluency, Roenning and Sandberg ensure that the details are not missing - their encounter with a giant whale shark, Herman’s close shave with a school of sharks after falling overboard, the accidental ingestion of their supply of shark repellent after thinking it was tomato soup etc. Certainly, inherent in any narrative feature is the need to play up the drama from time to time, and indeed the film has been accused of incorrectly portraying Herman as the weak link in the crew - in addition to exaggerating the tension which ensues from spending a prolonged time adrift. Admittedly, these excesses don’t add much to the tale, which in itself is already enthralling. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn to Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’ - in particular one which shows the sea’s phosphorescent glow in the still of the night - but this tale still stands on its own by its incredible facts.

Besides being fascinating in and of itself, the movie also boasts a fantastic lead performance by Hagen. He’s strappingly handsome no doubt, compared by many reviewers to a young Peter O’ Toole from ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, but Hagen inhabits the role with plenty of charisma, verve and conviction. His co-stars rarely miss a beat too, though there is no doubt Hagen is the heart and soul of the movie. In fact, it is Hagen who provides the emotional glue for the narrative, especially in the parts where the conflict between the crew members could come off as contrived.

And yet, the film that Roenning and Sandberg pull off is undeniably impressive. Granted that they did already have a riveting story to start out with, but the visuals they assemble to portray an extraordinary voyage will leave you going wow - whether the more minimalist shots that maintain a sense of perspective of the size of the raft and the proximity of the crew members or the more attention-grabbing shots of their fantastical encounters. Its impact might be a little muted coming after Ang Lee’s gem, but ‘Kon-tiki’ remains a spellbinding tale of wonder when you consider that it is after all based on fact and not fiction.

Movie Rating:

(Altogether a fascinating and even spellbinding dramatization of the incredible real-life ‘Kon-tiki’ voyage of 5000 miles across the open sea by one man who could not swim and his equally inexperienced crew of five)

Review by Gabriel Chong