Society of the Snow
Society of the Snow, or La Sociedad de la Nieve, a new survival thriller by J. A. Bayona, is now available on Netflix. It is based on the horrific 1972 Andes aircraft tragedy in Uruguay.
This is not a remake of the 1993 film Alive; rather, it is a new, visionary version of Pablo Vierci’s novel of the same name. Members of the cast include newcomers from Uruguay and Argentina who hold their own in this epic battle for survival.
An incredibly touching story of human tenacity through calamitous events and the hardships of living in one of the world’s most hostile, uninhabitable settings, told with brutal honesty and frightening realism. It is a very sensitive, strong, but unspectacular investigation of real-life disaster and the moral choices confronted by its survivors, masterfully performed by the young cast.
The situation in which the young travellers find themselves is further exacerbated by the onslaught of the elements, adding to the gripping alternating avalanches of a more nightmarish reality. As the well-known, torturous plot eventually manages to surprise without disappointing, the action sequences are bracing, meaty, and realistic.
Society of the Snow‘s cinematography is altogether stunning—seething with intensity, often confined, gradually becoming effectively claustrophobic, yet remaining captivating, harnessed by masterful film editing—and a poignant musical score by Michael Giacchino, but none of that subtle extravagance detracts from the film’s simple, but prevailing message.
Finally, Society of the Snow is a film that dives deeply into human nature and forces one to consider one’s own moral qualms if presented with comparable circumstances. People from all walks of life rally around one another in the face of unimaginable tragedy, revealing profound truths about our bonds with family, friends, and our fellow humans; the power of faith to carry us through; and the astonishing determination required to pull off a miracle by simply refusing to give up.
-Dirk Lombard Fourie