TIKITIKITIKI

I watched a movie titled, Kon Tiki.  It was a movie about a true event happened in year 1947, I think...  I watched it because I saw someone compared the movie to life of pi.  In the comparison, that someone said true event is better than an imagined story however beautifully shot.

I like life of pi a lot, I mean a lot.  So, I detest that statement.  I immediately reserved the movie version of Kon tiki at library.  I also rent the documentary about kon tiki.  The documentary was shot during the true voyage of kon tiki  by the scientists involved in the journey in 1947.  It won best documentary in the subsequent Oscar for best documentary.  In a period of political calamity, it really stood out in many levels.

But as I delve in deeper, after I watched the movie.  I was a bit distraught.  The movie version of the event was a fairly standard movie, in my opinion.  For in reality, the journey was well provided by the US military.  Since US military wanted to test many things in the journey, including newly developed ration, even experimental shark repellent.  The local Peru government supported the journey as well.  For national pride, of course.  And for the story's sake, the director and script writers had to engineer a weak character to create conflict.   This artificial act not only made the movie conventional, it felt like an easy way out.  Though I have to admit, I am a bit jaded about movies.

But what shocked me the most, was the constant message of Faith kept coming up!  It really reminded me of life of pi in some way.  These two movie really had a lot of similarity.  The wonder of sea creatures, which created many fascinated shots in life of pi, did wonder to Kon tiki as well.  And when the parrot was eaten by shark, the emotion went high.  The elements of innocence, faith, and wonder of nature, which made men small, was all there.  But that's where the similarity ended.

The difference between the two movie, I think was that Kon tiki eventually is a movie about conquering nature.  Life of pi is eventually a movie about human nature.  And that's where it bugged me.  I already know the results of Kon tiki.  The ending of the movie doesn't give me a sense of wonder.  The truth contained in the movie was watered down, especially after extended research on my part.  I also know the results of life of pi.  But it still give me a sense of larger than life experience.  Because the message was not about the result.  On the contrary, it was the process.

I've kept pondering on the message of life of pi.  I've written two journals about it too.  But I could not come to the conclusion.  With Kon tiki experience, it seemed to lead me to a probable one.  Life of pi was eventually a growing up movie, a boy becomes a man.  During the process, changes happen.  When I was reading quote from the movie on rottentomatoes.  Most people quote this one,  

"Adult Pi Patel: I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye."

It is this quote, that let me realize at the end what the movie was about.  

Kon tiki, on the other hand, did not have such message.  No one can deny the bravado of the men who's on the journey, especially the scientist who started the journey and cannot even swim!   But it is the limit of a movie portraying a true event.  Because that true event was only a medium to a message, or an illusion.  If the message failed to deliver its importance, or the illusion failed to deliver its magnificence, then the whole movie flopped. 

All these negativity is not intended to belittle Kon tiki.  For on its own, it had a calm and old style pace.  It felt like a gracious glide on the surface of  a deep blue sea under sunny sky.  I do think it's a missed opportunity though.  I believe it could be better.