Surviving was a group effort. Netflix debuted the official trailer for Society of the Snow (La sociedad de la nieve) a survival thriller film about the 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash selected as the Spanish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
Based on the true story, the film is an adaptation of the 2008 book La Sociedad de la Nieve (Society of the Snow) by author and journalist Pablo Vierci, who was a college classmate of the plane crash survivors, and stars Uruguayan and Argentine actors, most of whom are newcomers. The cast incluces Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Vegezzi, Fernando Contigiani García, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, Tomás Wolf, Agustín Della Corte, Felipe Otaño, Andy Pruss, Blas Polidori, Felipe Ramusio, Simón Hempe, Luciano Chattón, Rocco Posca, Paula Baldini, Emanuel Parga, Juan Caruso, Benjamin Segura, Santiago Vaca Narvaja, Fede Aznarez, Agustín Berruti, Alfonsina Carrocio, and Jaime James Loutá.
Release Date
Directed by J. A. Bayona, Society of the Snow premiered as the closing night film of the 80th Venice International Film Festival (Out of Competition), and opens in theaters on December 15, 2023 before streaming on Netflix on January 4, 2024.
Synopsis
On Oct. 13, 1972, a rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay, boarded Flight 571 to Santiago, Chile, for a match. But on their way through the snowy Andes — just short of their destination — the plane crashed deep in the barren mountains, where temperatures can reach 40 degrees below zero. Twelve people died on impact and several more were gravely injured. Only 29 lived to see a second day in the Andes. After multiple search-and-rescue planes combed the area, the search was called off and the passengers were presumed dead. After nearly two and a half months, 16 survivors were rescued. But what happened during those 72 days? [Netflix]
Reviews
Variety review credits director J. A. Bayona with “reclaiming the real-life tragedy and story of human resilience — and, yes, cannibalism — with authenticity and chilling realism, with emotion but without sensationalism.”
“More than the weeks of suspension between life and death, and the horrific experience of being forced to eat teammates, friends and family to stay alive, the traumatized return to safety and the psychological unease of being hailed in the media as “Heroes of the Andes” resonate powerfully. It’s not so much the tearful embraces of girlfriends, families and friends that provide the concluding surge of tearjerking pathos as the mournful sight of the emaciated survivors. With their skin scorched by the high-altitude sun and covered with months of grime, their haunted eyes seem a direct rebuke to those calling their deliverance a miracle.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Society of the Snow.