Thor Heyerdahl’s intrepid 1947 journey across the Pacific on a primitive raft, made famous by his own book and documentary, comes alive in this spirited, visually dazzling epic. Ethnographer Heyerdahl (who couldn’t swim and had never sailed!), along with a motley crew, constructs a hemp and balsa wood raft inspired by the pre-Columbian Incas as a means of proving his theory that the Polynesian Islands were settled by South Americans crossing the 4,000-mile Pacific. What follows is the Peru-to-Polynesia excursion, which co-directors Rønning and Sandberg—employing a crew of hundreds and technological magic—fill with high-seas adventure and nail-biting suspense, set against majestic cinematography and the vastness of the ocean. (118 mins.)
Selected Filmography: Bandidas (06), Max Manus: Man of War (08)
This year’s Norwegian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Sponsored by the Norwegian Consulate General, San Francisco.
FILM REVIEW
Interests:
Oscar Submissions,
Narrative Feature,
History,
Literature.
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