If you followed the 2012 Academy Awards, specifically the Best Foreign Language Film category, you might have noticed that Norway was nominated for the historical drama Kon-Tiki. This is a rare event. Norway has only been nominated five times since the category was created in 1957, and it has never won. Which is not to say that Norway has never won an Oscar. It did in 1952, for Best Documentary Feature. And which movie was it? Interestingly enough, also Kon-Tiki, the documentary precursor to 2012's dramatization.
"The exciting part about it is not the documentary itself, but the grand adventure it portrays."
Let's talk about why Kon-Tiki – the documentary – is so important to the people of Norway. The exciting part about it is not the documentary itself, but the grand adventure it portrays. Archaeologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) is known as one of Norway's biggest national heroes, and while his theories were never widely accepted by the scientific community, he certainly went out of his way to prove them. One of these theories was that the people of Polynesia originated from South America and not from South-East Asia, as it's most commonly believed. To prove this, Heyerdahl gathered five crew-mates and sailed from Peru to Polynesia – an almost 8000 kilometer-long journey – for a total of 101 days on a raft made out of balsa-wood and rope. You want to talk about the greatest Norwegian adventure? Here you go.
Since Heyerdahl knew this would be something to remember, he went so far as to bring a camera along on the journey. Of course, this is easier said than done. This was 1947, and using a camera was far from common knowledge. Trying to handle one on a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with hardly any experience sounds like more than just a challenge. It sounds close to impossible. While Heyerdahl should get loads of credit for documenting the journey on film under such circumstances, a lot of his footage was sadly deemed unusable. However, the film is the work of an excited amateur, and the rough look gives it a bit of charm.
"Despite the shaky camera, the movie won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. This was thanks to Olle Nordemar, who edited it."
Despite the shaky camera, the movie won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. This was thanks to Olle Nordemar, who edited it. Heyerdahl may be credited for just about everything else – directing, producing, writing, starring in, filming, and narrating in both the Norwegian and American versions – but without Nordemar's ability to put it all together, chances are it wouldn't have won anything. The funny thing, though? The official recipient of the only Norwegian Academy Award, Olle Nordemar, was Swedish. How's that for a punchline?
