Kon-Tiki - videos, teasers and stills from filming

All videos, teasers and footage from the filming of the film "Kon-Tiki"

Kon-Tiki (2012)

Timing: 1:58 (118 min)

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All about film

Video 1

Photo 32

Actors and characters

KON-TIKI Trailer # 1

English

1:48

What's left behind the scenes

The film's producer, Jeremy Thomas, had wanted to make it since 1996 and obtained the rights to Thor Heyerdahl's story before his death in 2002.
Much of the film was shot simultaneously in two versions – in Norwegian and English – to secure international funding.
Filming took place in the Maldives, Malta, Norway, the USA, Bulgaria, and Thailand.
Thor Heyerdahl's grandson, Olaf, repeated his grandfather's adventure by participating in the 2006 "Tangaroa" expedition, which followed the Kon-Tiki's route on a similar raft. Another project Olaf participated in was "Plastiki" – a journey from Australia to Polynesia on a raft made of empty plastic bottles, in support of protecting the environment from plastic waste.
The reason why Heyerdahl was so confident in the film that the raft wouldn't sink by absorbing moisture is simple, although for some reason it isn't explained to viewers. The fact is that freshly felled balsa wood logs were used to build the 'Kon-Tiki', which still contained resin that prevented the wood from becoming completely saturated with water.
During the expedition, Thor Heyerdahl and his team discovered a new species of fish.
Subsequently, Thor Heyerdahl provided new evidence to support his theory about the settlement of Polynesia by organizing the first full-scale archaeological excavations on Easter Island (book "Aku-Aku"). He discovered that the island is still inhabited by descendants of the "long-eared" people (who deliberately stretched their earlobes), with similarities to Peruvian and island monuments. Their distinguishing features are pale skin and red hair, atypical for the inhabitants of those regions. The "long-eared" people inhabited Peru hundreds of years ago, but were forced to leave the continent due to aggressive neighbors. According to Heyerdahl's theory, they were the first to reach Easter Island and Polynesia, leaving their mark in the form of stone statues and fair-skinned descendants. However, despite the evidence he presented, a number of scientists still question his theory.
One of the characters uses a counting method introduced in 1951 when compiling reports on the location of the Kon-Tiki. He uses the word 'femtifem' (fifty-five). In 1947, when the events of the film take place, he should have used 'fem-og-femti' (five and fifty). Since this method is still used today, its new format is still debated in Norway, and the filmmakers must have been aware of this situation.
When the film shows the cover of a Norwegian passport, it displays the inscription 'NORGE NOREG'. This inscription only appeared in the 1970s. In 1947, there was only 'PASS' and 'NORGE'.
When the heroes encounter a whale shark, it releases air as it dives under the raft. A whale shark is a fish, and fish do not breathe like that. Only whales breathe with lungs and can release air in this manner.
It is untrue that every 13th wave is larger than the others, as stated in the film. In reality, there are no patterns regarding wave size. The original documentary film *Kon-Tiki* (1950) states that the people on the raft simply waited for a large enough wave to carry them onto the reef.
The people on the raft did not worry about whether the ropes securing the raft would hold, unlike what is shown in the film. As described in the 1950 documentary, the balsa wood was much softer than the rope. As a result, the ropes would embed themselves in the wood, creating a protective space around them.
After the film's release, the daughter of Hermann Watzinger (1916-1986) stated in the press that her father was portrayed incorrectly in the film, and that in reality he was Thor Heyerdahl’s (1914-2002) closest partner, whom he fully trusted. In the film, however, he is depicted as a neurasthenic who is constantly afraid of everything. According to screenwriter Petter Skavlan, the problem was that the entire journey went too smoothly – without arguments or scandals aboard the 'Kon-Tiki'. The film's directors, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, apologized to Watzinger's daughter.
Thor Heyerdahl's grandson, Olaf, repeated his grandfather's adventure by participating in the 2006 "Tangaroa" expedition, which followed in the footsteps of Kon-Tiki on a similar raft. Another project Olaf participated in was "Plastics" – a voyage from Australia to Polynesia on a raft made of empty plastic bottles, in support of protecting the environment from plastic waste.
The reason why Heyerdahl was so confident in the film that the raft wouldn't sink by absorbing moisture is simple, though for some reason it isn't explained to viewers. The fact is that freshly cut balsa wood logs were used to build the 'Kon-Tiki', and they still contained resin, which prevented the wood from becoming fully saturated with water.
Subsequently, Thor Heyerdahl provided new evidence to support his theory about the settlement of Polynesia, organizing the first full-scale archaeological excavations on Easter Island (in his book 'Aku-Aku'). He discovered that the island is still inhabited by descendants of the 'long-eared' people (who deliberately stretched their earlobes), who bear resemblance to Peruvian and island monuments. Their distinguishing feature is pale skin and red hair, atypical for the inhabitants of those regions. The 'long-eared' people inhabited Peru hundreds of years ago, but were forced to leave the continent due to aggressive neighbors. According to Heyerdahl's theory, they were the first to reach Easter Island and Polynesia, leaving their mark in the form of stone statues and fair-skinned descendants. However, despite the evidence he presented, several scientists still question his theory.
One of the characters uses a counting method introduced in 1951 when compiling reports on the location of the Kon-Tiki. He uses the word 'femtifem' (fifty-five). In 1947, when the events of the film take place, he should have used 'fem-og-femti' (five and fifty). Since this method is still used today, its new format is still being discussed in Norway, and the filmmakers should have been aware of this situation.
When the film shows the cover of a Norwegian passport, it displays the inscription 'NORGE NOREG'. This inscription only appeared in the 1970s. In 1947, only 'PASS' and 'NORGE' were present.
It is not true that every 13th wave is larger than the others, as claimed in the film. In reality, there are no patterns regarding wave size. The original 'Kon-Tiki' documentary film (1950) states that the people on the raft simply waited for a large enough wave to carry them onto the reef.

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