Kon-Tiki

Filmed on the open sea, this handsome adventure story feels both authentic and modern while delivering the reassuring throwback thrills of the classic 1950s matinée feature. Pal Sverre Hagen stars as Thor Heyerdahl, the ethnographer who took his life in his hands when, in 1947, he set out to prove his theories of migration by setting sail from Peru to Polynesia on a primitive raft made of balsa wood logs. Although history tells us that he and his crew made it, there is still plenty of tension and, while it skirts the less sanitary aspects of six men being at sea in a confined space for 101 days, Kon-Tiki captures the scale of the expedition with an appropriate sense of lush, visual awe. As Heyerdahl, Hagen has the right amount of daring and gravitas, though his recklessness - hinted at in scenes of marital discord - is somewhat soft-pedalled in favour of the bigger picture: a man who put his ideas to the test by playing the highest stakes imaginable.