"Society of the Snow" Movie Review

Stories about the October 13, 1972, crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains have been told time and time again, with differing degrees of success—though what constitutes "success" is open to opinion.

Just the facts alone are terrible. Since the plane was effectively cut in half by a mountain, the majority of the occupants perished instantly. The search was canceled after many days. The famished survivors turned to eating one another. One time, they were buried beneath an avalanche. Two of the young rugby players on board eventually headed west in an attempt to reach Chile as the weather began to thaw. They lacked both climbing experience and equipment. Defying all odds, the two reached civilization and were able to direct rescue helicopters back to the downed aircraft. They managed to lift sixteen passengers out alive. News from throughout the world was created about the story.

The reportage quickly took on a sensationalistic and possibly lurid tone due to the cannibalism element. Because they had broken the taboo, many of the survivors felt ashamed.

In Bayona's picture, character development is handled quite quickly. A group of rugby players who are eager to travel to Chile for a match are introduced to us. Not many of them have ever left their homes. The movie is told from the perspective of Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic), a young man who was persuaded to go on the journey by his friend. Though not the main character, Numa offers some commentary. The lead is the group.It's challenging to maintain character consistency, and different personalities only surface once calamity occurs (perhaps a true representation of how calamity doesn't transform a person but instead exposes their true nature). The wall of the mountain rears up outside the plane windows like a terrible thing, as it actually was, and Bayona recreates the crash in a terrifying manner. The cinematography of Pedro Luque is breathtaking in the most traditional sense of the word. There are impossibly large mountains, unending white expanses of snow, and tiny humans that are hardly visible to the unaided eye making their way through the drifts. The film by Frank Marshall placed a strong emphasis on the story's quasi-religious elements, using cannibalism as a form of communion—a crucial defense for the survivors, who were primarily Catholic—and included numerous practically "inspirational" shots. Power struggles were depicted in "Alive" as well, with some of the marooned opposing strong leadership. That's not the path taken by "Society of the Snow." The method is much more intriguing. A leader does appear in the days right after the crash. In charge of emptying the plane, he also searches the baggage for food, gives inspirational speeches, and encourages people to have faith. This kind of leader is necessary during the first chaotic stage.

But when the days turn into weeks, "having faith" will not hold. After he crumbles, two other lads, Robertto (Matías Recalt) and Nando (Agustín Pardella), take on the difficult task of attempting to mend the plane's radio. If that doesn't work, they head into the mountains, hopefully into Chile.Everyone is equally affected by the first calamity, but after that, survival is a mental issue that requires mental tenacity. This is a common theme in survival stories, ranging from POW autobiographies to "Touching the Void," a book or documentary about two mountaineers who become stranded on a peak in the Peruvian Andes. A human must make a decision at a critical juncture in order to survive. In "Touching the Void" (book and documentary), mountaineer Joe Simpson, trapped in a massive ice chasm with a shattered leg, decides to go deeper into the crevasse in the hopes that it may open up on the other side. It was mental toughness, not physical toughness, that Simpson needed to make this choice. This is the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which continues to captivate people. It takes place when starving Roberto and Nando are surrounded by their deceased loved ones—many of whom passed away in their arms and many of whom they subsequently had to eat—and are psychologically intact enough to go seeking aid into a dangerous area, knowing that even though they might not make it, at least they would die trying to live.

Although "Society of the Snow" doesn't directly address any of these issues, Bayona's method gives these moral and philosophical considerations room to grow.