Director J.A. Bayona delivers a film in which surviving peril is critical.
Society of the Snow is a breathtaking experience filled with heightened suspense. The cinematography highlights the film’s emotions, and the scenery is truly amazing. The writing is a narrative on the importance of staying put. Society of the Snow reminds viewers that some moments in life require sacrifice and patience, two key factors in this film about friends who are as close as brothers in a detrimental situation. Everyone is hoping for one thing… to make it home alive. Will they make it?
Society of the Snow is a true story. It takes place in 1972 and focuses on a plane crash where a rugby team finds themselves stuck in the Andes mountains with the plane for shelter for over two months. The main characters are the team’s deeply connected rugby players, Fernando ‘Nando’ Parrado (played by Agustin Pardella), Adolfo ‘Fito’ Strauch (played by Esteban Kukuriczka), and Daniel Fernandez Strauch (played by Franciso Romero).
While they expected to be on a vacation, they instead survive a plane crash, but must learn to navigate uncharted territory. With weather getting colder, food and water supplies running low, and no connection for help, time is running out. Fortunately, they have each other.
The turbulence of the peril they’re in is brutal. The film’s narrative explains each detail of the mountainous environment and how it feels to suffer. The story also dives into what keeps everyone afloat and delivers the message that time is of the essence because as the narrator says, “The only thing that doesn’t belong is us.” Everyone is suffering because they are in a harsh environment where their bodies cannot handle the changing conditions. Cold is the evil which contributes to the horrific crash and terrible aftermath of the passengers on the Uruguayan flight featured in Society of the Snow.
The film emphasizes how the rugby team holds out for chances and holds on until help comes for them. The desire to live is the most enduring element in Society of The Snow. The plane’s passengers think back to their lives and what could have been different back in the past and the present. They wonder if things would have been different if they had not boarded the plane.
During the movie, I was reminded of a college weather course which touched on global warming and other issues related to changing weather conditions. Since the brutal cold and harsh environment play such a vital role in this film, I couldn’t help but reflect upon the importance weather plays in our world.
Society of the Snow is an experience filled with hope. Although the film has moments in which the audience can feel hopelessness beginning to set in, the stranded rugby players retain a sense of faith. This true story is about a challenging fight for a chance to live in a perilous situation where resilience and hope never end.
Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Society of the Snow.
