Society of the Snow

Anybody who remembers the films of 1993 might be familiar with Alive, an account of the October 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and the drastic measures its ultimately 16 survivors took to survive. While Frank Marshall's film was based on Piers Paul Reed's book, J.A. Bayona's cinematic account of the same disaster is based on another book, Pablo Vierci's Society of the Snow. Let's see how it is.

On-board the ill-fated flight were members of the Old Christians Rugby Team and several of their relations. They were supposed to play their next match in Chile, but instead crashed in the Andes. Twelve out of the forty-five people aboard perished in the initial crash, with more succumbing in the next few weeks. The search for them is eventually called off. As their food and hope dwindled, the survivors resorted to cannibalizing the dead. Eventually, players Roberto Canessa (Matias Recalt) and Nando Parrado (Agustin Pardella) decided to hike to Chile themselves for help.

You might need to take notes to keep up with its enormous cast. Besides Canessa and Parrado, a few standouts include Daniel Fernandez (Francisco Romero) and his cousins, Adolfo & Eduardo Strauch (Esteban Kukuriczka & Rafael Federman), the survivors' de-facto leaders; Javier Methol (Esteban Bigliardi ), the oldest survivor; and Antonio "Tintin" Vizintin (Agustin Della Corte), who joins Canessa and Parrado on their first expedition. Although plenty of names might get lost in the shuffle, it still packs a punch when the deceased are tallied up throughout the film. The biggest punch for those unfamiliar with the disaster is realizing that narrator Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic) is the film's posthumous narrator.

It might make sense, then, to consider the party a collective protagonist. Bayona and his writing team sufficiently establish them as a likable unit of ordinary people. Gaston Costemalle (Louta), one of the first casualties, fools around with the PA system just before the crash, but his death is still tragic. It's quite harrowing to hear the survivors cry out in agony at night and when the initial search is called off. It's equally relieving to see them crack jokes to keep their spirits up. Their last photograph before they embark makes for a memorable image. The film doesn't dwell on the details of their later rations, though it might be enough to upset a few stomachs.

Roger Ebert commented on his review of Alive that the survivors were implausibly healthy in the end. He might be amazed and, ahem, chilled, to see the craftsmanship of the Oscar-shortlisted Makeup team. It's astounding to see the party go from healthy to frostbitten as their days on the Andes turn to weeks. A few key makeup personnel even won Oscars for Pan's Labyrinth, and they deserve to get on the ballot.

Now for a few other technical notices. Its brutal plane crash helped earn it a spot on the Visual Effects Shortlist, just as Alive did thirty years ago, while the CGI-enhanced landscapes are impressively seamless. There was a reported lack of snow at the Sierra Nevada, standing in for the Andes, which necessitated those additions. Either way, Pedro Luque's cinematography is great. Michael Giacchino's moving score got him shortlisted for Oscar notice as well, but the sound designers weren't as lucky. It's a shame as their work gives the plane crash and an avalanche that buries the wreckage some brutal power.

It's jarring to see the contrasts between Alive and Society of the Snow's approaches to the same subject.  Even watching both of their plane crashes back-to-back shows how far visual effects technology has evolved over thirty years. But I should be reviewing the newer film, shouldn't I? It's emotionally and sometimes physically brutal, but it's ultimately an uplifting true life survival story. This is Spain's entry into the International Feature Oscar race, and all you need to do to find out why is to Netflix and chill. Again, keep notes.