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Kon-Tiki (2012)
Thor!
Thor! It's dangerous! Thor! Thor, don't do it! Thor, you have to wait! Thor, don't do it! You can fall in the water! Don't do it! - Don't do it! - Don't do it! Don't jump! - Come back, Thor. - Don't! Thor! Are you okay? Cold ... - I thought he was dead. - Cold ... You tried to impress your friends, didn't you? - Thank God Erik saved you. - God had nothing to do with it. I just don't get what drives you to do these things. I hope you've learned your lesson... and can promise that you'll never do something so dangerous again. Promise? Do you promise? - Smile. - No, there shouldn't be any smiling. Just be yourself. Monsieur! Liv! So, no smiling. You look very handsome. You will make this island famous. It's going to be just as with Darwin and the Galapagos. When people hear of Fatu Hiva they'll think of one thing: Thor Heyerdahl. You have to turn more towards the current. Yeah, but it's heavy. Didn't you say that the first Polynesians came from the west? Yeah. Imagine paddling all the way from Asia. Against the current. They must have had strong arms. Yes. Are you ok? I'm fine. It's fine. Liv? Listen to this. "The Faa-hoka is the Marquisian variety of pineapple." "It was found in abundance by the first European explorers" - Same pineapple? - Yes. That really belongs in South America. Perhaps it can swim? Tei? Where did your ancestors come from? We believe that Tiki ... Tiki, the sun god, ... took us to these islands... from the land behind the sea. From east? "L'est?" Everything comes from the east. Ocean currents, wind and sun. Tiki navigated towards the sun. Tiki! AMERICA AND POLYNESIA: A STUDY OF PREHISTORIC RELATIONS. - So how long are you in New York? - Leaving in a few days. Going home for Christmas. My name is Heyerdahl. Thor Heyerdahl. Yes You already said that. The wise men of anthropology are quite clear that Polynesia was not populated from the east. Wise men are not always right, Sir. Look around you. Every book in here offers some theory or another. Most written by one man, read by perhaps only ten... of whom nine disagree with the theory. But my theory provides evidence that Polynesia was settled from the east. I've spent ten years writing and researching my thesis. I lived on Fatu Hiva. Professor... I lived my theory. What number am I? How many publishers have you seen before me? I know you've been to Barbeau and Benedict. I presume Meade and Hill-Tout. All scientists assume the world is waiting to hear from them. The fact that I am your last hope ought to tell you something. Yes, that scientific publishing is completely closed to new ideas. It tells me that when you ignore evidence, nothing... Listen to me! You claim that the Peruvian pre-Inca civilization was remarkable. I agree. And that the prevailing winds and currents in the Pacific down there... move from east to west. But, it is also the case that Tiki could not have travelled to Polynesia because his people had no boats! No. But they had rafts. They had balsa wood rafts. Rafts! Now that would be evidence! You want your theory to be accepted? You want to be right? Then go ahead. Drift from Peru to Polynesia on a balsa wood raft. Good luck! Gentlemen. Your magazine will be with me on a raft. At the mercy of the winds, all the way to Polynesia. It is further than from Chicago to Moscow. Here to here. You'll have some sort of engine in case of emergency? No. Absolutely not. We will surrender to the current and the wind... like Tiki did. And by undertaking this extraordinary voyage, you are proving? That the oceans were not barriers, but roads. Not impediments. But pathways. I will prove that South American people sailed to Polynesia... Every schoolboy knows that Polynesia was peopled from Asia... not South America. And it is my job as a scientist... to prove those schoolboys, and those who quote them, wrong. Ancient man ... Being sun worshipers. Mr Heyerdahl. Doubtless the story of Norwegians drowning in the pacific... will sell a lot of magazines. But not this one. This is a scientific expedition... Our magazine has a higher purpose than to finance and enable men bent on suicide. I doubt he'll have any success recruiting anyone for such a voyage. A dozen logs or so. Big balsa wood logs. And a hut for five crew. All very capable, of course. The mast. The rudder. There you go. The Kon-Tiki. I spent 22 days on a raft. Torpedoed. North Atlantic, winter of '43. Can't sail it. Or steer it. All you can do is sit there and wait to die. These logs... They are going to move against each other in the waves... and eventually they are going to break the lashings. And you will each be sitting on a log floating... your separate ways at the mercy of the elements. Thank you for your time. Excuse me? You're Norwegian, right? I couldn't avoid hearing your conversation in there. - Are you a sailor? - No. But I can tell neither are you. It will lessen the resistance considerably. We engineers just can't resist. Are you an engineer? Yes, but nowadays it's mostly selling refridgerators. Herman Watzinger. Thor Heyerdahl. And you are going sailing? All indications in the same direction... There is no doubt. It's entirely possible to drift all the way there... due to ocean currents. It's the wind and current that's key... I have one month to finance and get the entire expedition ready. A lot to do. - Mr. Heyerdahl, may I help you? - We have an appointment. The money ready before Christmas, buying the balsa in January... - Mr. Heyerdahl, you are not on the list! - Look under his name then. Watzinger. We build in March and sail in April. Then arrive in August... and hope the hurricane season starts late. - Peter Freuchen. - We damn near died when zipper froze! He is like the captain of this place. Mr. Heyerdahl, you are not allowed in here. My friend from Fatu Hiva! You look like a man who just got dumped by a glossy magazine! Thank you. Don't worry, Heyerdahl. Scientific Committees my ass. - Am I right, McGregor, or am I right? - Always. Of course. Frostbite. The winter of '24. It taught me one thing. Do as the natives do. Down to the smallest detail. Don't use nails if they used rope. Don't use steel if they used bone. It took their ancestors Go with them. And you just might hang on to your leg. Cheers! I'm 32 years old. A refrigerator salesman, in a broken marriage. That's me. I really want to join that raft. I know it can be dangerous... but if you only knew how dangerous the refrigerator business was. No one can save us out there. You get that? Except your theory. Captain. You will definitely not freeze your leg off. I can promise that. I'd like to change my ticket to Oslo please. - I want two tickets to Lima, Peru. - And when would you like to travel. - What's the soonest? - One moment please. Tomorrow. - Tomorrow then. - Certainly, Sir. - Bamse thinks you're Santa. - You need to tell him it's not like that. No, you can tell him that yourself. They are so excited to get you home. It will be so good to have you back home, Thor. Yes Liv, the situation is... that I haven't been able to finance the expedition. So I actually have to go to Peru right now. You're not coming home? It's been difficult, Liv. It's been very hard. I've been all around town begging, and I can't do it any more. Don't do this. - I have to, Liv. - Please Thor, don't do this to the kids. Don't you get it? If I come home now, it's over. I've spent 10 years on this, Liv! I've spent 10 years! You can't even swim. I'm going to ask Torstein Raaby and Knut Haugland if they will join. What do they know about sailing? Not much, but they can use a radio. And I'm going to ask Erik. He can navigate and use a sextant You should have come home. - Or you should have asked me to join. - Live, dear Liv. You know I would have said no for the boys sake. Liv. Come to Tahiti. Meet Us Bring the boys. And we can show them Fatu Hiva. Your collect call will end in 10 seconds. Just one moment, please. Thank you. Liv? Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas then! Ready? Yes. Callao, Peru February 1947 - Hey! - I'm so happy! You should be, it took me This is Herman Watzinger my second in command. For the simple reason that without him no one could have been first in command. Herman these are my two fantastic radio operators. Torstein. War Hero. Nerves of asbestos. As far as we know, he has only two weaknesses. Whiskey and women. Knut Haugland. Also a war hero. And I know Knut hates me for saying it, but I must be allowed to call him a legend. That is what you are, Knut. Erik Hesselberg. No legend. But you have saved my life. Erik and I grew up together in Larvik. Erik has one unique skill that we are going to appreciate. Erik has been at sea before. - I'm sure you have some questions? - Maybe I should introduce you first? This is Thor. A pompous, self-centered weirdo. But a very good leader. And because he is, we are about to do what Tiki did 1500 years ago. We are going to... We will build a raft. - And ... - And drift into the sunset. Where is the raft? You're sitting on it. Here you are. - That's what we are going to build? - It is. And exactly that. We are using the same technique, and the same materials as Tiki used 1500 years ago. This is extremely important. Everything depends on it. And I hope everyone gets that. All I've brought is a radio and a pocket knife. We are going to need a lot of equipment. Yes we do. And when the money arrives, we'll buy what we need. Yes? Thor Heyerdahl? - Yes. - My name is Bengt Danielsson. - I'm a little busy right now. - I saw this yesterday. And now you're going to tell me we'll sink after two weeks. Or the raft will disintegrate, or what do you think? Giant squid? No. I thought I'd show you how to assemble the camera. Like that! - You're a photographer? - No. Ethnographer. - Just spent a year in the Amazon. - But you can use a camera? Let me come on the raft, and I'll show you. Seor Heyerdahl. If you have a minute? Seor Real, nice to see you. Declicious breakfast this morning. - Those Huevos con tortillas are. - About the bill. I'm still waiting for the money. American dollars are hard to transfer these days. - But it's been three weeks. I can't... - I know. I know. Just a few more days. Thank you. Thank you. You can earn a lot from a documentary. If it is well made. Let me guess. There was no money. Your Excellency. Thank you for seeing me at... Your Excellency, thank you for ... - Seor Heyerdahl? - Just a glass of water, please. Jos Bustamante. Your Excellency. Thank you for seeing me. What can I do for you? Actually, I'm here to tell you about something I can do for you. And what might that be? By crossing the Pacific. For 5,000 miles. I will prove that Peruvian natives were the first to settle Polynesia. What? Peruvians discovered Polynesia? And how may I help you? So the president of Peru calls the US Navy who then tells us to come over. We'll get everything we need. In return, do we have to invade Polynesia on behalf of Peru? And you thought it was the waiter? Soups, knives, desalination tablets, dinghies, fish tackle, canned food... - ... shark repellent. - Does it work? - What? - The shark repellent. That's what we want you to find out. That's good. How much can we fit down there? - I've got ten so far. - What about back there? - It is completely full. - That's good. An amputation-saw... Prepared for anything. Are you sure about the refrigerator seller? Herman, how is it with those... What have you brought, Bengt? Besides books. Nothing. Except the hope that I'll finish them all. - It's not so cramped. - Erik. Extend your leg! No matter what, we'll sleep like sardines in a can. Nothing but fish for three months. I need another steak. Thor, I thought about something. What about a small test run. Just for a few days. We'll still be off before hurricane season. - No, it's too risky. - Risky? Yes. Besides, Tiki already tested for us. Cheers! - Tiki! - Cheers to Tiki! Cheers ... - Excuse me. - No, Torstein ... Us! Tripolantes! No, you loco! - Gracias! - Salud! This is all we have Liv. I have faith it will be okay. I t will be okay. The boat! The boat! It's the boat, Liv! Wait! Wait! No! - No! - Liv! Wait! Help! Over here! Over here! Help us here! We are leaving in a couple of hours, Liv. I just wanted to say goodbye to you and the boys. Goodbye, Thor. - I've brought lots of drugs this time. - That's good. - I hope you won't have to use them. - What? I hope you won't have to use them! Yes yes. So do I. The boys say good luck. Thank you. And you? Do not be mad at me, Liv. Liv. If I make this... everything will change. I won't have to fight like this Liv. I just hope that 100 days from now the children will still have a father. I can't hear ... What? Nothing, Thor. Nothing. I can barely hear you now. What did you say? Losing connection here now, Liv! Sorry .... Adis! Thor, over here! How's it going? - We'll see. - He's doing the best he can Thor. - Anyone want more tomato soup? - No thanks. If we get wind from the west now. We'll blow right back to Callao. Tiki got wind from the south. - There it is again. Fuck! - How do you get it around? Tighten the sail in the front. We'll get more wind behind. Tighten the rope starboard. - You need it further up, Thor. - Behind? Further up! We'll get more momentum to steer with. Come on. Ouch! Fuck! - Are you okay? - Fuck. Slacken more rope starboard. More rope starboard! - Where is starboard? - Right! My God! Won't budge. It's completely off course. - We can't even steer. - It's fine. We'll just use the oar to keep the bow forward. That's fine for now. Awesome Great job. Just relax and enjoy. In 100 days, you can start a Peruvian crab colony in Polynesia. That's not bad, eh? Would have liked it even more if we were heading towards it, but... It's probably better if you take off the lens cap. There. Yes ... Only 100 days left now. Was it a shark? You should get some sleep. You have watch in a few hours. Thor? Remember those sailors in New York? The guys who said the logs would rub against each other until the rope broke. We should have used some wire. These ropes held 1500 years ago, and they will hold now. And if you won't trust Tiki, you can trust me. Does anyone know if they are edible? Flying fish. Must taste like a wonderful mix of herring and grouse. Herman, you should hold on to something. If you fall overboard, you'll stay there. Hard to turn around and pick you up. Good that one of us has been to sea before. - Drowning is the best way to die. - I wouldn't say that. You'll manage one minute under water, maybe two. Then you breathe. You swallow a lot of salt water. First you'll be suffocated. The water pushes down your lungs and your stomach, where it mixes with stomach acid. A chemical reaction makes it feel like you are burning from the inside out. And then the panic makes your heart race. You'll pop a lot of blood vessels on the inside. Then you swallow more and more water. And then you die. All in all... Three, four minutes Five. Does your life flash before your eyes? Yeah. And the experts say that's the worst part. Damn radio! Fuck! Just forget it. Torstein. - What did you say? - Andes mountains ... Andes mountains are hundreds of miles away. Ok? Just stay in bed. Can't risk you vomiting on the radio. Look at the chart then... As long as we're just drifting up the coast, we'll be in radio shadow. I need radio contact, guys. Exposure is money. And I need to pay for this. That's right, Thor. Keep on filming. I only care about getting in contact with the Coast Guard. They'd never arrive in time anyways. If anything should happen I mean. North northwest. That's good. You know that the south equatorial is to the west? Yes I know. Since we can barely steer and way off course, I mean. You know you can't wish for a new course. There are some rules at sea. - Should we wake the boys? - No. Just some rain. They can sleep. Everyone on deck! Come on! Get the sail down! Thor! Tie yourself down Thor! Everyone, tie yourselves to the boat! Cut the sail! Get it cut! Get the sail down! Thor! Thor, grab my hand! Thor! Thor! That went fine. Twelve degrees, five minutes... Two seconds south. Eighty degrees, fifty-five minutes... Course north-northwest. What does that mean? That is? Yeah. That's not so bad, right? Course is still too northerly. We are here. After four days. The worst that can happen now is that we'll drift back to land? The worst that can happen now is that we'll drift up here. Straight into the maelstroms south of the Galapagos. That's where we are headed. I've never heard of anything like that there. Please. Look ... It will be fine. Have faith it will be fine, and it will be fine. I have lots of faith. Problem is that I also have a sextant! The Galapagos maelstrom creates waves over 9 meters high. And its powerful roar can be heard over 10 miles away. It's nicely illustrated. We need to get it higher. - Need it higher. - Can you get it higher? Roger that. Higher! There! We have something. - He's transmitting from Los Angeles. - Can he contact the press? Here comes the money, Thor! I lost him. No, no! No! Damn! Fucking shit bird! Let her be. Why did we bring the bird again? Good question. What do you say, Thor? It was a gift. Come on. Bengt ... Bengt, get the camera. Get the camera, Bengt! The camera, Bengt! Bengt, get the camera. Whale shark. Harmless. Harmless? Are you insane? It can tip us in a second. - They are sacred in Vietnam. - They call it "Ca Ong". Mr. Fish. Bengt, camera! Here it comes. Look at that! - Bengt! Where's the camera? - I'm charging it! - It hit me! - No, it just eating from the raft. Relax. Where is it? Look at that! No, put it down. Put it down. No! Erik! Erik! Come here. Herman, are you deaf? Didn't you hear what he said? - It would topple us. - You follow orders! - Keep it together. - Come I'm sorry. Fuck! - Yes ... - Yes? - He didn't listen to you. - No, but it's my job to say that. Hey ... He sells refrigerators. He got scared. It happens. - How are you? - I'm fine I'm fine. People who have things to think about... They should try this. Drift in the Pacific. Hey, Lorita. - This was us long ago. - Us? Yes we started that way. As small organisms in the water. Were we that beautiful? Probably. But since then it has gone straight to hell. Thor? The shark... Or whale... Whatever it was. - Is Knut okay? - He's fine. Do not worry about it. You're on the oar? Yes trying to get on the bus to the south equatorial. If it hasn't already left that is. It hasn't. Could be. No. It can't be. - Are you building a lifeboat? - No, it's for my daughter. She is six months old. I doubt that her first words are "daddy". Torstein? I need to talk to the press. Come on. I'm trying, okay? I have a young daughter as well at home. We aren't getting a signal, so there's nothing you can do anyways. Just fix the radio. Then I'll show you what I can do. - The Andes can't still cast a shadow. - They can when we don't have the balloon. That fucking bird. - We don't have enough power. - It's not about watts Torstein. Fuck! Shit! Can you put out that cigarette? Look! There's something down there. Look at that. Look at that! Protects against sharks. Yeah. Sure... - Are you going down? - No. Bengt. That's right. Send the Swede! Shark! The wood is soaked. Just like you showed me. Showed? I broke off a piece and tossed it overboard. Sank like a rock. The raft is absorbing water, Thor. It looks worse than it is. We're not even on the right course. You'll take an extra watch. As far as I know, everyone has a job to do! We're not on vacation. Yes we have him. Ready? Yes. "To Otto Munthe-Kaas, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Washington DC." "From Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki. May 17, 1947." "58 seconds south, 09 seconds west." "The raft is keeping up well. We are on our way and morale is high." "Having had problems with the radio, we have been unable to establish contact." "The wind conditions are stable and we ..." - You okay? - Yes. - You sure about this? - Yes. People want to see the raft. Hands inside. It's about Shark! Let's go! - We got you. - Come on! I got you. It's okay. Bengt? - Why are you feeding the sharks soup? - It's shark repellent from the Americans. No, it's tomato soup. - Where's the shark repellent? - Well, apparently we ate that. Come on happy seaman You will get my red rose You are beautiful. I am young Sing from the heart, sing You are beautiful. I am young Sing from the heart, sing The girl in Havana ... Lorita? Lorita! No! Watch your legs! Stop it! We'll attract more sharks! Please! Please. It's our only chance. Our only hope now is to try and reinforce the ropes. Tighten up everything again. Herman... We have built this raft just like Tiki did, and he made it there. And so will we. - This is the faith we have. - Faith? This isn't a religion Thor. This is ... insanity. This is bigger than us. Please. Look at the logs. Feel how your raft is moving. - Tiki knew. - My God, you understand nothing? There's no one here except you who believes in Tiki! No? Then what the hell are you doing here? I beg you. All I'm asking is that we secure ourselves... With a few modern materials. Please? No! No! At least I'm not going to freeze my leg off. Herman! Herman, grab the rope! Grab the oar! Hold on! The rope is too short! Throw the shark overboard! Pull the rope in again. Throw it! Herman, stay calm! No, Knut! Throw the rest of the shark out! Three years ago, I shot four men. The Gestapo found me with a radio. It was war. That's what Torstein says. He helped sinking the Tirpitz. But that doesn't bother him. Thank you. You're the one who saved my life. That's what I mean. Thank you. I couldn't have saved you. I can't swim. I know that, Thor. Everyone knows that. What time is it? Ten past two. - Are you sure? - Yes, ten past two. - We need to talk. - Go ahead. We are on the south equatorial. On our way to Polynesia. - Are you sure? - Yes. 100%. Oh my God! Look at that! We are there! We are on our way, boys. - Is it true? - Are we there? I knew it. No, you didn't! Herman! Are you happy now? Were you ever in doubt? On course and ship shape, we have now passed a critical point and spirits are high. Every nautical mile is a nautical mile closer to the proof I have sought. Early man did not see the oceans as a barrier but rather as a means of communication. This is science that can not be done behind a desk Or by a committee. That a 1500 year old civilization - - Possessed maritime and navigational skills to successfully maneuver a balsa wood raft Over 5,000 miles. We are using the same stars as they did! It's as if we're the only people left in the universe. Maybe we are. Maybe they've dropped bombs on eachother. And every city is like Hiroshima. I doubt we would have had radio contact Bengt. Maybe we've just been accepted. By nature. That we've become like a seagull or a fish. Bird. Look! Look! A bird. What's going on? Look! We have traveled over 8000 kilometers, boys... But the fact is that the greatest danger is still ahead. - People? - No. The Raroia reef. It lies like a wall around the entire island, with sharp coral. Why didn't you tell us? It was impossible to know exactly where we would end up. We can try to push the course southward. And hope to hit Samoa in about ... 30 days. - No way. - What alternatives do we have? We could try to surf over. Surf? Yes. Waves come in cycles of 13. Every 13th wave is substantially greater than the other. When we are close to the reef... We throw out an anchor, something heavy that can keep the raft in place. And then? Then we count the waves. And just before the 13th wave... We cut the rope, and hopefully, surf over the reef. It could work. I like it. Let's do it. - That's what we'll do. - Good. Start by finding something heavy. We have some broken radio batteries and jerry cans. Thor? Liv asked me to give you this. I think you were supposed to get it when we got to land, but... Approaching Raroia reef. "If no word within 36 hours", ... Contact the Norwegian Embassy in Washington.'' 250 yards to go. Put on shoes. Everyone, put on shoes! Herman, you can start when you're ready. Throw the anchor! One! Did you ever consider bringing life jackets? To! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! It snapped! Hold on! Thor! My love Thor. You made it! You proved what Tei told us that night on Fatu Hiva. You don't need to learn how to swim. Should you fall in the water, you would float on willpower alone. As you might have understood, I'm not in Tahiti waiting for you. Because what was supposed to be our lives, turned out to just be yours. You are who you are. And you're going to spend the rest of your life chasing sunsets. Thor, this wasn't about exploring the Pacific Ocean. More important than going, was why you had to go. Why you couldn't stop yourself from putting everything behind you, - - steering towards the unknown. But that is you, - - My beloved Thor. And the irony is that what I love you the most for. - - is what drove us apart. Liv. Bengt fell in love with Polynesia. He settled there and became a Consul General of Sweden. He died in 1997. Erik built himself a sailboat, that became his home for 11 years. He worked as an artist until his death in 1972. Torstein kept going on expeditions. He died in 1964 during an attempt to reach the North Pole on skis. Knut resumed his career in military intelligence. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Kon-Tiki museum. He died the Christmas of 2009. Herman became the director of UN's Food and Agriculture organization. He died at Titica lake in 1986. Thor wrote a book about Kon-Tiki. It was translated to over 70 languages, and sold over 50 million copies. The documentary about the expedition won an Oscar. Liv and Thor divorced after the Kon-Tiki expedition. Their boys lived with Liv, who later moved to the US where she died in 1969. Thor continued his work as an experimental archaeologist, author and explorer. He died in 2002. Everybody dance now |
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