Freely based on a true tiki

Watzinger (the real one)

“Kon-Tiki” is a 2012 Norwegian historical drama film about Thor Heyerdahl´s famous Kon-Tiki expedition, which took place in 1947. The film exists in two different versions, one with most of the dialogue in Norwegian, the other with dialogue in English.

Both Heyerdahl, the journey of Kon-Tiki and his later expeditions were world famous in their day, Heyerdahl becoming a virtual national hero in Norway. He was of course well known in Sweden, as well. I heard about the Kon-Tiki and Ra expeditions already as a kid. Ironically, Heyderdahl´s theories about trans-oceanic contact between ancient civilizations were rejected by the scientific community and remain so to this day. I also remember how Heyerdahl was dethroned a few years before his death when archeologists and others attacked his latest project, which was to prove that the Norse god Odin was a real historical person, hailing either from Azerbaijan or the Russian region around Azov (unless I´m mistaken, this is freely based on medieval Icelandic chronicler Snorri Sturluson´s claim that Odin came from Troy in Asia Minor). Heyderdahl´s idea that some of the ancient navigators were White Europeans ruling over Natives doesn´t exactly chime with the present ideological climate, either. Interesting fact: Graham Hancock claims to have known Heyerdahl…

Heyderdahl set out to prove that Polynesia was settled from South America rather than from Asia. To this end, he built a raft christened Kon-Tiki and recruited a small crew. The primitive raft then sailed from Peru all the way to French Polynesia. In 1950, Heyerdahl released his own documentary about the Kon-Tiki journey, which went on to win an Academy Award. Ironically, this old documentary (available on YouTube) is actually more interesting, and in its own way, more dramatic than the quasi-Hollywood drama “Kon-Tiki” from 2012. Some of the real action isn´t even included in the 2012 film, while other details are simply wrong (as in made up). In the film, Heyerdahl´s second-in-command aboard the raft, Herman Watzinger, is depicted as a cowardly fool who constantly disobeys direct orders, something which led to protests from his family in Norway. In reality, Watzinger was a stereotypically Aryan-looking former elite soldier and athletics champion. (If Dolph Lundgren had been younger, he could have starred this man in a flick!) Another difference between the film and real life is that Heyerdahl had considerably more support IRL.

While “Kon-Tiki” (2012 flick version) does have its dramatic moments, most of the film feels dragging, and it also has that slightly annoying low comedy factor typical of American releases (which the Norwegian film-makers clearly mimicked). By all means, watch it if crazy exploration is your thing, but then, turn to Heyerdahl´s own “Kon-Tiki” from 1950/51. As for the ancient Polynesians or All-Father Odin, who knows…?