Society of the Snow is the unbelievable true story of the Uruguayan rugby team called the Old Christians. After departing from Uruguay, the plane carrying 40 passengers and five crew members crashed in the snowy Andes mountains. The Chilean Air Search and Rescue Service (SARS) launched a rescue mission afterwards. But they stopped after 8 days, believing that everyone on board was dead.
By some miracle, half of the passengers actually survived the crash. As they wait for rescue, their numbers dwindle down from 45 to 33 to 16. They managed to survive the unforgivable cold, hunger, and avalanches for 72 days by being resourceful and doing most of the things we would consider taboo: cannibalism.
Bayona's skill at telling big stories is clear from the very beginning until the very end. He first made sure that we understood the vastness of the Andes by showing its big mountains covered in snow. The sight let us know that what they've gone through was nothing short of a miracle. A little while later, there's a great plane crash sequence. The sounds stand out here, as he combines the unsettling sounds of metal and wind with great effect. The movie then focuses on the survivors, showing all the terrible things that can happen to them while they're stranded in the middle of nowhere. He ended it all with a heartfelt goodbye and reunion, which is something he seems to have mastered since his debut film, The Orphanage.
A young man named Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic Roldán) takes us through all these ups and downs in the mountains. The decision to focus on him and his role in the whole crash is both a mystery. His name isn't as well-known as that of Nando (Agustín Pardella) and Roberto (Matías Recalt). Nando Parrado lost two-thirds of his family members in the crash. Meanwhile, Roberto Canessa is the interim doctor for the survivors. They're the two people tasked with hiking the western rim to Chile. It makes a lot more sense to center the story on them.
Even so, many things about Society of the Snow are great, from the make-up to the script. But a big disaster movie like this can always feel so small on film. There's no justification for the scale of this tragedy. The longevity of their stay feels all too short, and the decision to eat their dead friend and family isn't as convincing. Despite all that, I guess the level of realism put into it makes the whole thing so interesting and good.
4/5
