Society of the Snow (15)

Dir: J. A. Bayona

Cast: Matias Recalt, Agustin Pardella, Felipze Gonzalez Otano, Luciano Chatton, Valentino Alonso, Francisco Romero, Agustin Berruti, Enzo Vogrincic

J. A. Bayona’s visceral retelling of the 1972 Andes flight disaster is an inspirational and equally traumatizing tale of survival

Back in 2007, Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona broke onto the scene with the release of his genuinely creepy, gothic horror The Orphanage. Having been endorsed by someone as influential as Guillermo Del Toro, you know that a then 32-year-old Bayona had plenty of potential, and his debut feature did not disappoint. The film would go onto become a major hit for a modestly budgeted horror film, resulting in Bayona securing directing duties on his first major big-budget spectacle, The Impossible (2012). The emotionally traumatic disaster movie centred around the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and became an instant box office smash in the director’s native Spain, and still over a decade later remains the second highest grossing Spanish production of all time, only being topped by Alejandro Amenabar‘s The Others (2001).

After the release of yet another critically acclaimed tearjerker, A Monster Calls (2016), it was not long before Bayona was snapped by Hollywood to direct his first major franchise feature. With very little creative control and speculation surrounding studio interference, Bayona’s biggest film to date, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) was panned by audiences and critics, despite grossing $1.3 billion at the global box office.

Five years later, Bayona has returned to his Spanish language roots with his retelling of the incredible true story of the 1972 Andes flight disaster, subsequently known as “Miracle of the Andes”. The remarkable tale of survival has been depicted in countless books, documentaries and films over the years, the most notable adaptation being Frank Marshall‘s 1993 film, Alive.

Distancing itself from Marshall’s sensationalised American version, Bayona and his fellow co-writers (Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques and Nicolas Casariego) worked the story around journalist Pablo Vierci‘s 2009 non-fiction book of the same name, La sociedad de la Nieve. Bayona and his casting department also vitally opted to use a predominantly Uruguayan cast to further immerse their audience, a creative decision not taken on the 1993 adaptation, which starred American actors Ethan Hawke and John Malkovich.

Despite its two-and-a-half hour runtime, Bayona’s film does not waste too much time establishing characters, as we meet the players of the Old Christians Club rugby union team as they excitingly prepare to travel to Chile for a match. Many of the young men have never left home, and seeing the trip as an adventure, invite along a number of their family and friends. One of the players’ friends, Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic) is encouraged to go on the trip and serves as the film’s narrator.

Whilst flying over the Andes, the passengers’ jubilation is brought to a crashing halt as their plane collides with the mountainside, splitting in two with the blunt visceral aggression usually associated with the Final Destination franchise. After regaining consciousness, Numa and the remaining survivors unsuccessfully attempt to radio for help and save those who are mortally wounded. With very few resources at their disposal, the survivors treat the injured and bunker down in what remains of the fuselage to survive the extreme cold. As the days go by and food supplies begin to dwindle, it is not long before a handful of the more desperate and delirious survivors begin to think the unthinkable in order to survive – to eat the remains of their fallen friends and team mates.

When desperation resorts humans back to their animalistic tendencies, Bayona does not shy away from depicting the unimaginable act of cannibalism on-screen, but these scenes are respectfully shot to prevent them from venturing too far into the grotesque. Cinematographer Pedro Luque manages to keep these potentially stomach-churning scenes on the edge of frame, whilst simultaneously capturing the trauma and despair in the frosted eyes of those present. Luque’s mix of close range and wide angled camera work captures the juxtaposition of the survivor’s cramped, makeshift living quarters against the awe-inspiring and seemingly endless mountain backdrop.

Having built his success of the back of a couple of distressing feature films, Bayona does not pull his punches here. Perfectly matched by Michael Giacchino‘s skin-tingling score, Bayona is able to encapsulate the survivors’ ever increasing lack of faith. From the outset, ‘Society of the Snow’ is an emotional rollercoaster, as we see our survivors continuously make progress in their bid to survive, only for their efforts and bodies to be repeatedly crumbled by the elements.

There has always been fascination surrounding this story, ever since it first made global news over fifty years ago, and it is obvious why. It is an astonishing tale of human spirit and endurance as well serving as a quasi-religious insight into the rights and wrongs when we are at are most vulnerable and hopeless. Bayona has managed to craft a thrilling and thought-provoking tale of survival and he only stumbles at juggling the large cast of real life characters. There is plenty of time granted to a handful of high-profile characters, such as Roberto (Matias Recalt), Nando (Agustin Pardella) and the aforementioned Numa. This central focus towards the groups’ de facto leaders sees a large number of the survivors blend into the background, only to be mentioned when an on-screen epitaph announces their death.

A vast improvement on its 90’s counterpart, ‘Society of the Snow’ refuses to sensationalise the tragic real-life story. Aided by a hair-raising score, Bayona has managed to craft an engaging and touching story of human resilience and morality.

Society of the Snow is now available to stream on Netflix