An Honest Approach to What Truly Happened in the Andes Mountains
DIRECTED BY J.A. BOYANA/2023
In 1972, only days before Christmas, a true miracle occurred in Chile that quickly became global news. After months of lost hope, the remaining passengers of the Uruguayan Air Force flight 571 were rescued from the Andes mountains. Though this is not the film to address this historic event (the most famous being the American film Alive starring Ethan Hawke) Society of the Snow certainly stands out as both the most accurate and respectful interpretation of what truly happened up in the mountains.
While traveling to Chile, the flight carrying the members of a Uruguayan rugby team along with their family and friends crashed into the heart of the Andes mountains. The passengers that survived the initial crash were left stranded and faced with treacherous conditions. Among the 45 passengers and crew members of the place, only sixteen survived the following 72-day period before their rescue. This film is in great hands considering that writer and director J.A. Bayona is no stranger to fantastic tales of survival having also directed The Impossible (2012), which documents the events of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Though he handles the material with a considerable amount of sensitivity for real-life counterparts of his characters, Bayona also does not shy away from the brutality and horrific reality of what these individuals underwent. This is most evident in the depiction of the actual crash, which happens to personally be one of the most nauseating scenes I have viewed this year in cinema. Grotesque without seeming overdone, Bayona ensures in this singular scene that the audience must strap themselves in to experience each hardship as if they were members of the crash themselves.
What truly stands out, however, is not the brutality or the historic accuracy but the overall compassion towards the relationships built between the passengers. In Society of the Snow, the unfolding struggles are narrated to the audience by Numa Turcatti. Played brilliantly by Enzo Vongrincic, Numa guides us through the complexity of what survival truly required. After the first several days on the mountain, those that remained made the decision to cannibalize their deceased companions. Numa himself was an opponent of this decision, and it is through his narration that we understand the intricacies behind this moral dilemma. What initially may seem to be an immoral act committed only in moments of sheer savagery is revealed instead to be a complicated ritual of the boys appreciation and love for their family and friends. Those that begin to understand their low chance of survival are shown willingly given consent for their bodies to be used to assist in the survival of their fellow companions. This choice does not come easily, and this point is emphasized by Numa’s internal monologue delivered to the audience.
Bayona does not directly attempt to sway the audience in any particular direction in regard to the morality behind the decision to engage in cannibalism, but he allows the voices of the survivors to bleed through so that the audience may at least understand how they may have reached such a decision. It is particularly interesting that Bayona uses Numa, an opponent of engaging in cannibalism, as the narrator. This choice alone makes the film even more nuanced as we watch Numa eventually cave in the name of necessity and with the understanding that his friends willingly gave their body to aid in his survival. Bayona could have avoided this complication conversation that shrouds this moment in history, but his lack of hesitance to address this factor is what humanizes his cast and draws the audience in with an intriguing moral dilemma.
Society of the Snow makes a name for itself in the genre of survival stories by its understanding of the sacrifices that come with living through such traumatic events. Bayona has created a thrilling film that demonstrates a commendable level of appreciation for those that did not survive the mountains. For once, it is not survivors that are the spotlight, but those that gave their lives to ensure that they saw the sun rise.