20131203: Adventure Review--Kon-Tiki

Kon-Tiki

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. British/Norwegian/Danish live action feature length film, 2012, PG13, (96 Netflix, 118 IMDB) minutes in length.  Spoken word is in Norwegian, English, French; subtitles in English.  Aspect is 2.35
2. IMDB: 7.2/10.0 from 19,759 audience ratings.  Estimated budget: 16.6 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 84% on the meter; 78% liked it from 10,326 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.9/5.0 from 105,602 audience ratings.
5. Directed by: Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg.
6. Starring: Pal Sverre Valheim Hagen as Thor Heyerdahl, Anders Baasmo Christiansen as Herman Watzinger, Tobias Santelmann as Knut Haugland, Gustaf Skarsgard as Bengt Danielsson, Odd Magnus Williamson as Erik Hesselberg, Agnes Kittelson as Liv Heyerdahl.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Watch this in High Def if at all possible.


2. Heyerdahl visits Polynesia in 1937, and hears the natives claim that their ancestors came from the east, which would be South America.  While canoing with Liv, she imagines how hard it would be to paddle all those miles against the current.  A light goes on in his eyes.  Back in Norway, though, his theories about Polynesian origins are not well received.  He intends to build a raft in the style that the Polynesians might used as proof of concept.  Sailors in New York tell them that the ropes holding the raft together will break, and the raft will disintegrate.  In contrast, a Scandinavian veteran sailor, who lost the use of a leg to frost bite, convinces Thor to use the closest possible materials and building techniques compared to the original sailors.


3. He gets the rest of the funding he needs in Peru, and building takes a while.  Things are a bit strained with Liv, but Thor sees a bright future after the voyage.  They do a sea trial, then set off in 1947.  Things go smoothly for a few days, then they get hit by a strong thunderstorm.  They have to repair the sail.  New readings indicate they need to correct their course, or else they will go through the Galapagos Maelstrom, which is contraindicated.  They use a balloon to increase their antenna effectiveness, but their pet parrot eats through the line.  They lose contact with Los Angeles.


4. Their encounter with the whale shark was a bit scary.  Fortunately, the mooring of the harpoon that a scared member threw into it gave way before the whale took them too far off course or tipped them over.  The ropes look a little loose, and the old concerns come back.  The encounter with the first great white gave another good scare.  They notice that the raft is absorbing water, and thus getting heavier.  They send via Morse code, which has greater range than voice transmission.  A short time filming from an inflatable raft gives another shark scare.  The pet parrot Lorita tries to nab something from the surface of the water; a small shark swims up like a rocket and eats him.  The owner of the parrot, unfortunately, catches the shark then stabs it to death.  More sharks appear, of course, from the quarts of blood released.  Herman falls into the water with blood on his leg; the sharks are still there.  They rush to recover him.


5. After a lot of effort, they manage to correct course to miss the Galapagos Maelstrom and to make it to Polynesia.  They pass the point of no return, and radio their location repeatedly.


6. Their arrival in Raroia Reef, they attempt a surfing maneuver to get over the sharpness of the reef.  The overhead shot of the reef and the Kon-Tiki was amazing.  Unfortunately the reef cuts the rope too soon.  The big wave comes in behind them, and Thor is thrown overboard.  The raft makes it in one piece, and Thor manages to get to shore first, despite his lack of swimming ability.


7. Thor makes eye contact with his lifelong friend Erik who saved him from drowning as a child. Erik carries his guitar and a dripping suitcase.  The moment when Thor starts laughing afterward is priceless.


8. The world receives the news with great interest, and Thor's life does change greatly, as he predicted to Liv.


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Excellent retelling of the 1950 film, using modern cinematography.
2. Five stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent from beginning to end.


2. Sound: 10/10 Also excellent, with wonderful incidental music.


3. Acting: 10/10 Pal Sverre Valheim Hagen (Thor), Anders Baasmo Christiansen (Herman), and Odd Magnus Williamson (Erik) were just great, and I had no complaints about any of the other actors.


4. Screenplay: 10/10 Solid, well developed, wonderful mix of powerful imagery, good acting, and direction.