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As we’ve seen with the Post Office scandal, nothing highlights the horrors of our world like a true story adapted into drama.
In Society of the Snow, its not just livelihoods on the line but the actual lives of the passengers on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 who ended up fighting for their lives in the Andes mountains.
On 13 October 1972, a flight with 45 people on board took off from Uruguay and headed for it’s destination in Chile – but they never made it.
Instead, the plane crashed into the unforgiving snow covered landscape and left those on board having to battle the elements just hoping to survive.
Known as The Miracle of the Andes, those who survived the crash then began a brutal 72 day trek back to civilisation through one of the most remote and inaccessible locations in the world.
The story has been told once before in 1993’s Alive – starring Ethan Hawke – but this 2023 adaptation relays the horrific events in excruciating detail, in the survivors’ own language.
The film is based on a real life horrific crash (Picture: Netflix)
The Society of the Snow has been widely praised for it’s ‘harrowing’ depiction (Picture: Netflix)
The crash has been referenced throughout pop culture as it was the inspiration for TV series Yellowjackets and has even been parodied in Rick and Morty.
A 2008 book written by Pablo Vierci, a journalist and friend of the survivors serves as the main source for this 2023 version of the 50-year-old incident.
Now the decade-long project, directed by J.A Bayona, is on Netflix and viewers have been left astounded by the tale and hailed it as ‘unforgettable’.
‘SOCIETY OF THE SNOW is now available to watch on #Netflix and I cannot recommend it enough! One of the most unforgettable, harrowing & technically astounding films of the year!’ Matt Neglia wrote on X.
It details a 72 day struggle for survival in the Andes(Picture: Zhivko Mironov/Netflix)
The real survivors were consulted every step of the way(Picture: Quim Vives/Netflix)
Jessie Noctis added: ‘Ever watch a film that changes you in a fundamental way? This. This is it for me.
‘Society of the Snow (2023) a brutal story of survival against all odds. This film is absolutely not for the faint of heart, and it’s 100% true.’
Every detail of the film has been praised, with Will Mavity tweeting: ‘The Society of the Snow makeup team is the Oscar winning Pan’s Labyrinth team and damn do they deserve to make the Oscar 5. Really incredible work capturing aging, bruised, frost bitten and weather beaten skin.’
It’s not just viewers who are obsessed with this true story as it’s been shortlisted for Oscar Best International Feature Film and longlisted for Bafta Best Film not in the English Language.
The men resorted to cannibalism in order to survive (Picture: Netflix)
Only 16 people managed to escape with their lives (Picture: Netflix)
Bayona wanted to ensure authenticity so even travelled out to the crash site and spent over 100 hours with the 15-remaining survivors, who are now in their 70s.
The families of those who are no longer around also were consulted to make sure everyone was on board – with cast member Carlitos Páez playing his own father.
As the film tackles starvation, death and freezing temperatures, the cast – made up of many newcomers – lost weight during filming with the support of doctors and nutritionists.
The subject of food is a difficult one, given the extremes the team went to in order to survive, but Bayona has been praised for handling the sensitive issue with care.
J.A Bayona visited the crash site and even filmed in the Andes (Picture: Netflix)
He wanted to make sure the film was authentic to the survivors’ stories (Picture: Netflix)
It was revealed the group had a pact to sacrifice their body parts on death to ensure those remaining would have food to eat, prompting an initial public outcry.
‘We preferred to evoke emotions rather than show explicit images,’ he told The Independent of the directorial choices to focus on the men’s mental state rather than any graphic imagery.
He added: ‘The actors were brave and committed wholeheartedly to their performances, experiencing a small measure of the cold and hunger the survivors would have endured.’
The Society of the Snow is available to watch now on Netflix.
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It’s based on a true story