Director: Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg
Cast: Pal Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Tobias Santelmann, Gustaf Skarsgard, Odd-Magnus Williamson, Jakob Oftebro
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 109 minutes
Synopsis: Thor Heyerdal decides to sail a raft from South America to Polynesia in an attempt to prove that it was possible for South Americans to settle 4,300 miles away.
KON-TIKI is one of those true stories just made for a cinematic adaptation. The epic tale of one man’s journey for the truth is already an Academy Award winning documentary from way back in 1950. In fact, this story was deemed so important that it was filmed twice. Foreign film fans may think this is a Hollywood adaptation of 2012’s KON-TIKI, when in actual fact it’s just taken this long to get released here in the UK, but rather than dubbing it, the Norwegian cast and crew filmed the scenes in both Norwegian and English. It’s a tactic not often employed, and although I’d personally prefer the subbed version, at least there’s no dubbed version, preventing any distractions over poor lip synching.
There are comparisons to be made between the performances, but for the most part the cast still provide stellar interpretations of the brave crew. Hagen plays the adventurous and purposeful Thor Heyedahl, who took a crew and a raft from South America to Polynesia in order to prove Polynesian descent. Heyedahl is not presented in the classical obsessive way, but rather as a passionate man who we now know was right all along. Hagen is both likable and heroic, but keeps his humanity with him at all times. There’s an essence of pain when he leaves his family for long stretches, and although some drama escalates from such moments, it doesn’t dominate the more exciting narrative.
While on the raft, we’re treated to a series of exciting set pieces that hit home the peril. Of course, being the non-documentary version of the story, encounters with sharks become full on attacks and there are other sections of conflict which probably never happens. Although this is expected and often welcome – it certainly makes things very engaging and thrilling – sometimes the script forgets about such moments. We’re constantly reminded of rotting segments of the raft, only for it to amount to nothing. This is the equivalent of a much talked about antagonist never appearing throughout, and I doubt a sequel entitled ‘Revenge Of The Rot’ is going to appear anytime soon.
This is a minor quibble though, as the film constantly keeps us enthralled by an epic journey that feels truly inspirational and absolutely, 100%, captures the excitement of adventure. From the music to the gorgeous visuals, we want to be on that raft and we want to experience these events first hand. It’s been a long time since a film has managed to balance its power and entertainment in such a leisurely fashion. Directors Ronning and Sandberg expand upon their wonderful BANDIDAS and MAX MANUS: MAN OF WAR, and every frame justifies and explains them being chosen to handle the next instalment of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES.
It may have been a long time coming, and the subtitled version may be more authentic, but KON-TIKI has been worth the wait. An unforgettable story that needs to be told again and again and again. This film reminds us of the achievements of the past, and how there was a time when the equivalent of googling an answer meant risking life and limb on an insane rafting expedition. Liberties may be taken with the fact, but this will certainly bring more people back to the factual event, which is a great thing indeed.
[usr=4] KON-TIKI is released on 19th December.
