Q&A: Filming Kon-Tiki in two languages no easy task
As if it wasn’t challenging enough to make a film on a cramped raft in the middle of a churning sea with Kon-Tiki, directors and childhood friends Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg also shot most scenes twice — in English and Norwegian. But it was worth it to get the story of anthropologist, explorer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl into American movie houses, where audiences are notoriously averse to subtitles. Sandberg spoke to the Star from his home in Oslo earlier this week:
Q: Heyerdahl’s 1947 voyage to prove his theory that Polynesians originally came from Peru and not Asia captivated the world a generation ago. Did you read his book?
A: I definitely got captivated myself as a kid and he sold over 50 million copies of this book. It’s a really great adventure. The oceans feel like the last frontier. Thor Heyerdahl said himself he wanted to prove the voyage was possible and I think he has proved that.
Q: Was it difficult for your Norwegian cast to switch back and forth between two languages over and over each day of shooting?
A: The cast were very much into it. They want to work outside of Norway and to do this in English was a great opportunity so they jumped at it. We used a language coach to make sure the English was not too modern. It had to feel natural.
Q: This shoot was physically challenging. Did you have any problems, especially since you worked so much in open water off Malta, either on the raft or from support boats?
A: We grew up by the sea and were used to being on boats so we didn’t get seasick and the raft is surprisingly stable. It’s like a platform. But it was hard because it was very warm and we’re on such a small, confined space. The raft was small, too small even for the six men it was built for, and sometimes there were 10 (film) crew on it. We also shot in winter out in the cold and with saltwater and in rainforests. Some pretty extreme conditions.