Norwegian high-seas adventure floats into FCCT
In 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdal wanted to prove his theory that Polynesia was settled from the West by indigenous South Americans.
To do so, he built a balsa-wood raft, just like the sailors in pre-Columbian times used. The 7,000-kilometre, 101-day voyage became the subject of an Oscar-winning 1950 documentary by Heyerdal, and it serves as the basis for 2012's “Kon-Tiki”, an adventure epic that is Norway’s most expensive film production yet.
A gripping drama, it was a nominee for the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, a first for a Norwegian film.
Gutsy directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, who ignored the advice of other filmmakers and actually made their film in the open ocean rather than a studio, have since been tapped to helm the upcoming next “Pirates of the Caribbean”, currently in production in Australia with Johnny Depp.
“Kon-Tiki” screens at 7pm on Monday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand as part of the Contemporary World Film Series. Admission is Bt150 for non-members plus Bt100 the beer, salmon and other delicacies being laid on by the Royal Norwegian Embassy. For more details, check FCCThai.com.
Also showing
Movies on Design – Part of the Bangkok Design Festival, Movies on Design has five documentaries screening at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center today, tomorrow and next Friday and Sunday. The selection consists of “Microtopia”, about tiny houses; “The Startup Kids”, about the founders of such Web-based initiatives as Vimeo, Dropbox and Soundcloud; “Where Architects Live”, featuring the living spaces of Zaha Hadid and other famous building designers; “Koolhaas Houselife”, which looks at the unexpected hassles of living in an architectural masterpiece; and “Gamer Age”, a study on the evolution of video games. These are ticketed shows. For the schedule and other details, check www.facebook.com/moviesondesign.
The Friese-Greene Club – The month directorial debuts winds down with Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy “Bottle Rocket”, which Anderson made with his Texas pals the Wilson brothers, Owen (who co-wrote the movie), Luke and Andrew. Tomorrow, it’s Guy Ritchie’s turn, with his crime farce “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. Sunday has one more Douglas Sirk film for the month, 1955’s “All That Heaven Allows”, starring Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Tuesday has Wes Craven’s “Scream 2” and the month closes out with the proto-sci-fi masterpiece, 1927’s “Metropolis”. Shows are at 8pm. For more details, check FGC.in.th.
Alliance Francaise – An paroled thief is coaxed back into the life of crime by old cohorts in “Le dernier diamant” (“The Last Diamond”). To get the job done, the thief must get close to a woman who is a gem expert. Eric Barbier directs and Yvan Attal, Berenice Bejo, Jean-Francois Stevenin and Antoine Basler star. It screens at 7pm on Wednesday. For details, see AFThailande.org.
