What would you do to survive frigid conditions? Huddle together? Scale a mountain? Resort to cannibalism?
That’s the dire situation in the new Spanish disaster film “Society of the Snow,” which competed for Best Non-English Language Film at the Golden Globes and is shortlisted for potential Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film.
It’s now streaming on Netflix, available to watch dubbed in English or you can feel the real authenticity by watching the film in its original Spanish, but either way, it’s one of the must-watch movies of the year.
Based on the Pablo Vierci’s 2009 book of the same name, the film chronicles the true story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which was chartered to transport a rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile but crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. Only 16 of the 45 people on board managed to survive for 72 days.
Three decades ago, the true story was previously adapted into the movie “Alive” (1993) directed by Frank Marshall, narrated by John Malkovich and starring Ethan Hawke, but it’s never been depicted quite like this.
Director J.A. Bayona is one of our brightest talents from his horror masterpiece “The Orphanage” (2007) to his coming-of-age fantasy “A Monster Calls” (2016). After franchise paychecks in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018) and Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (2022), “Society of the Snow” grounds him back to his survival instincts of “The Impossible” (2012), which showed a family survive the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Bayona creates an immersive experience that makes us feel like we are a passenger on the ill-fated flight. We feel the terror of the plane crash, the disorientation of the wreckage, the cold isolation that drags into desperation, the battle between hope and despair, and ultimately the triumph of the miraculous escape. It reminded me of the coldest moments of “Apollo 13” (1995) with freezing men exhaling visible breath in a badly damaged vessel.
While the cannibalism element could have been salacious — as much of the media coverage was — Bayona handles it with care, showing the spiritual debates and moral implications that faced the survivors. The gritty authenticity is aided by a neorealistic approach of casting Uruguayan and Argentine actors, many of which are new to acting, juxtaposed with the majestic beauty of rigid, snowcapped landscapes that were born to play the role of daunting.
Its various crafts are also on the Oscar shortlist, including Best Visual Effects (Félix Bergés and Laura Pedro) for the realistic crash, Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Ana and Belén López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé) for the wounded and emaciated bodies, and harrowing music by prolific Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino.
As for the aforementioned Oscar shortlisting for Best International Feature Film, “Society of the Snow” isn’t the front-runner — that belongs to “The Zone of Interest” — but it’s more likely to win than “Fallen Leaves” or “Perfect Days.” Remember, “Past Lives” is partly in Korean but it’s a U.S. production, so it isn’t eligible for the category, while France oddly chose not to submit “Anatomy of a Fall,” so “Society of the Snow” is my dark horse this year.
“The Zone of Interest” is still the best bet for your Oscar pool, but if “Society of the Snow” can somehow pull off an upset, it would mark the second victory in a row for a Netflix acquisition after the reigning champ “All Quiet on the Western Front.” It’s so well made and so rivetingly told that few would have an issue with it winning.
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