Kon-Tiki (2013)

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nTitle: Kon-Tiki (2012)

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nDirectors: Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg

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nCast: Pal Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, TobiasnSantelmann, Gustaf Skarsgard, Jakob Oftebro, Agnes Kittelsen, Odd MagnusnWilliamson

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nReview:

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nKon-Tiki is the real life story of a Norwegian adventurernnamed Thor Heyerdahl who in 1947 was hell bent on undertaking an expeditionnacross the Pacific Ocean. But this wasn’t just any old expedition Heyerdahlnwanted to put together, nope, Heyerdahl wanted to go on a wood raft across the PacificnOcean. He wanted the raft to be constructed with the materials that people hadnin the past, nothing modern, just basil wood and rope. He wanted to prove that innthe past, man could have traveled long distances on rafts made of wood. Heyerdahlnwanted to prove that these long treks could have taken place and that technologicalnlimitations didn’t stop people of the past from achieving these journeys. Basically,nhe was kind of like a Jacques Cousteau, the famous biologist/adventurer;nactually, Cousteau and Heyerdahl were contemporaries. I admire guys like these,nI mean; they give up a normal life to live extraordinary ones. Their lives werenfilled with real life adventure; which is probably why the tagline for thisnmovie is “Real Adventure Has No Limits”.

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nSo yeah, this is one of those “based on real life events”ntype of films, even though from looking at the trailers, you might get the ideanthat it’s some sort of fantasy. And speaking of fantasy, the film has somensimilarities with a couple of movies out there, but the most blaringly obviousnone is Life of Pi (2012). Both films are about people traveling on a raftnthrough the perilous, unpredictable ocean. On both films the travelers meetnbeautiful marine life, gigantic whales, sharks, glowing sea creatures, flyingnfish. Both films also explore the validity of faith, of believing in what wencan’t see. While Life of Pi preaches about the Christian concept of God,nKon-Tiki has a character fiercely believing in ‘Tiki’, a Polynesian God. At onenpoint this belief in ‘Tiki’ is questioned when a character tells Heyerdahl “nobodynbelieves in your Tiki story” to which Heyerdahl replies “Then why are you here?”n So Kon-Tiki has various levels ofnsimilarity with Life of Pi, the difference is that while Life of Pi is more ofna fantasy film, Kon-Tiki happened for real. These crazy guys really did takenthis journey through the Pacific on a raft they built themselves. The film alsonhad some similarities with a film I love very much called Joe Versus theVolcano (1990), a film in which Tom Hanks also embarks on a journey through thenocean on a small raft. Joe Versus the Volcano is a film that gets quite existential,nit also touches upon the idea of god. At one point Joe actually looks up at thenheavens, talking to a God whose name he does not know and thanking whoever thatnbeing might be. What is it with films about people taking perilous journeys on raftsnand the theme of God? It might have something to do with pitting man vs. nature;nnature on these films being the closest thing to God an idea that pops up innall three of these films, the idea that nature and life are so grand that theynare worthy of our worship.

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nIn Kon-Tiki, the part of the story that amazed me the mostnis the one about these guys building this raft all on their own and deciding tonjust do it. I mean, this took guts because they wanted to make the journey sansnanything modern, save for a radio to communicate with in case of emergencies. Heyerdahlneven tried looking for funding through National Geographic magazine, a helpnwhich the magazine denied because Heyerdahl’s journey seemed downright suicidalnto them. Which made sense to me in a way, I mean, when the journey begins, younfeel as if these guys are so green, they really don’t know much about travelingnthrough the ocean, much less on a wood raft. You kind of get the feeling thatnthe sea is going to give them a good whoopin’. But what they lacked innexperience, they made up with sheer adventurous spirit. And a grand adventurenit was, the film portrays all their adventures, their fights with sharks,nwhales, the weather and themselves. Those scenes where the men interact withnnature bring up some of the most spectacular moments in the film, my favoritenbeing their encounter with a whale, such an awesome scene. It reminded me a bitnof that elusive mythical fish in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with StevenZissou (2004), yet another film about a group of adventurous men in the sea.

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nThor Hayerdahl wrote about his experiences and printed themnin a book called The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft across the South Seas. Henalso took Cousteau’s example and filmed the whole expedition with hopes ofnturning the footage into a documentary, which ended becoming a documentary callednKon-Tiki (1950). By the way, that documentary won an Oscar in 1951! Heyerdahlncontinued doing expeditions after this one, there’s actually a whole museumndedicated to all of his journeys where you can see all the different rafts henmade for these different journeys. The guy dedicated himself to a life ofnadventure and exploration, so much so that he sacrificed his family life andnthis is something that the movie addresses a bit, how his journeys destroyednhis marriage. This is a concept that’s been played out in films about peoplenwho are so devoted to achieving a certain goal, that they opt to sacrificeneverything, marriage, love and even family life. These are people that feelnthat what they are doing is bigger than themselves, so they pay the price. Atnthe end of the day I thought the film was very motivational, it also remindednme of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo (1982), yet another film about a determinedndude in a boat going against all odds. Final words on this film is that evennthough it is a really beautiful film to look at and one with some amazingnmoments in it, it needed maybe a little more conflict, a little more intensitynin its plot; but aside from that, I personally really dug this movie. The Norwegian directors of this film, Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg did such a swell job with this movie that they are now directing the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, looking forward to that, it will be interesting to see what kind of feel they can add to that franchise. Bottom line is, if younlove nature, need to be inspired and have an adventurous spirit, this one comesnhighly recommended.  

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nRating: 4 out of 5 

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