‘Society of the Snow’ (2023) Review: Between Life and Death
Every year, Netflix releases a survival movie set in the middle of nowhere, where a group of people or just one person survive the harshest, coldest weather. Against the Ice, The Summit of the Gods, 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible, and Broad Peak showed how people persevered and sometimes lost their lives in places they shouldn’t be. This year is J. A. Bayona’s Society of the Snow, based on a true event about a rugby team that crashes on a glacier in the Andes.
Set in 1972, Society of the Snow follows a rugby team travelling on the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 to Chile. The team players, their families, friends and coach board the flight, hoping everything will be fine. But when the flight reaches the Andes, the pilot loses control of the plane and crashes catastrophically on a glacier. Out of the 45 passengers on the plane, only 29 survived the crash. But as the harsh conditions of the snowy Andres get worse, people succumb to their deaths. The remaining survivors are starving, and as the food is scarce, they realise that they must resort to extreme lengths to keep themselves alive.
It’s tricky to write a survival show in the middle of a snowy landscape. There’s an issue of showing the same visual imagery to the audiences, which might turn repetitive. Also, without challenging external and internal conflicts, survival movies of this nature might turn into a bore. Society of the Snow, on the other hand, provides an emotional and psychological perspective.
The movie is based on Pablo Vierci’s 2009 book of the same title, written in collaboration with the survivors. Bayona uses the book to recreate the first-hand account of the survivors’ experiences to write a movie that showcases not only their hardships but also what happened to the dead. It breaks away from the adventurous survival film to focus on the drastic measures the surviving rugby team had to take to stay alive. This is why Bayona’s film works a lot better than the previous adventure movies by the giant streaming service.
Society of the Snow focuses on Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic) as the moral person of the group and the movie. Numa is the 24-year-old law student who tragically passes away while they are stranded and acts as the narrator. Even beyond the grave, Numa narrates the movie and provides questions regarding the group's survival. It’s meant to keep the audience engaged in the emotional aspect.
With many characters and their personal emotional conflicts, it’s hard to focus on everyone individually. The scope of the disaster and the ethical concerns of cannibalism and survival aren’t enough to fit everything in. It’s an emotional movie that doesn’t forcefully use these vulnerable points to drag the story with useless subplots. Bayona doesn’t exploit the survivors’ vulnerability for entertainment but approaches the subject with a delicate psychological lens to show the audience their desperation and defeat.
Society of the Snow shows the resilience of human beings. It is a survival movie that provides internal and external conflicts with drama along with difficult experiences of actual stories. While it may focus on a dead person’s narration to navigate morality and ethics, the movie uses it to connect to the audience. A story that hinges on the survivors grasping between life and death, Society of the Snow ends with the question of whether or not the tragic and life-changing event was a miracle or tragedy; it is up to the audience to decide.
Here are some reading materials to learn about the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine and the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement:
Books about Palestine on Verso Books
Books about Palestine on Haymarket Books
