Society of the Snow

The similarities to Alive (1993) are difficult to shake, but there are some key differences. The film is clearly told as an amalgamation of perspectives from the survivors. There is an incredible attention to detail, an omnipresent silence that permeates the film and a whole lot of philosophical musings. The pacing of the film is a bit clunky and self-absorbed, which is curious since this is clearly a story about surviving as a community. The emphasis of the survivor's ingenuity and consequently of the human spirit is in every frame. Bayona is skilled in centering all of the members of the fateful flight. I do not know if there could be too much deference, but perhaps Bayona played with that possibility a bit.

If you fully absorb the message of this film, it just might change your life.

Arguably the best example of brotherly love ever committed to screen, Society of the Snow is a true story of mankind - abruptly stripped of all comforts and violently deposited in the harshest of circumstances, resolving to devote every breath to helping each other hold on to life.

This is the latest movie adaptation of the ordeal that unfolded on Friday, October 13, 1972 when Uruguayan Air Force flight 571, carrying 45 passenger & crew, slammed into the Andes Mountain Range, leaving 29 initial survivors, 16 ultimately, to navigate the next 72 days of extreme suffering in a place where “life is the anomaly”.

This event has undergone multiple movie iterations since it occurred. We’ve seen focuses on the gore (1973’s Survive!) and on a shared sense of humor & spiritually (1993’s Alive), but in Society of the Snow, it is the boundless generosity of heart and incredible dedication to one another that is uplifted most.

Providing far grittier depictions of the brutal conditions in which the young men were left, this film makes the extreme cold, hunger, and agony, feel intimate and visceral. The camera often brings us so close to the faces of characters that it feels we are right there with them during pivotal moments, but then pans out to show us the vastness of the Andes where they were stranded. The director’s stylistic choice to omit dialogue wherever a look / expression can convey a scene without words, is striking.

A South American cast lends additional authenticity to this version, and the bond the actors formed with each other is felt through their performances. There is deep and intense love in their interactions. Obviously taking on the roles of the Andes survivors has impacted the young actors immensely, and that effect is imparted to viewers, as well.