Society of the Snow – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – J.A. Bayona
Writers – J.A. Bayona, Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques
Stars – Agustín Pardella, Esteban Kukuriczka, Francisco Romero

In October 1972, a Uruguayan plane crashed in the Andes Mountains on its way from Montevideo to Santiago, Chile. There were forty-five passengers on board, nineteen of which were members of the Old Christians Club rugby team together with members of their families, supporters and friends. When the plane crashed it broke up with the wings and tail section shearing off. What remained of the fuselage descended down the mountainside about 700 metres before coming to rest. Twelve individuals died instantly. Bayona tells the story of those who survived the crash and the extraordinary physical and moral challenges each faced as they clung to the hope that they would be rescued.

The film begins with upright young men playing rugby, being laddish in the showers and being conventionally dutiful while attending Mass. The issues of right and wrong which naturally dominate religious belief will be of little assistance to the young men when they are on the mountainside waiting to be rescued. There was little food on board. There were, however, the dead bodies following the crash. The moral choices facing the survivors are stark.

The film shows the various strategies these young men adopted to make themselves visible in this remote desolate place to any aircraft searching for them.  It shows their attempts to locate the other parts of the aircraft in search of the radio and additional equipment. It details the ingenuity of these young men as they use various strategies to enable them to survive, not least the drops of water created by the shining sun which they catch in improvised containers. Two of the survivors undertake a most hazardous climb in what seems a futile attempt to seek help.

The film lists at the side following the crash the names of those who died and their age. As each survivor of the crash subsequently dies their name and age appear on the screen as a silent toll. It is a device which underlines the horror that each of the survivors faced. The scenes follow each other at an unhurried pace which helps you have some sense of the longevity of the ordeal. It was to last seventy-two days.

The acting of the cast in their challenging roles is exemplary and you come to forget that these are actors as they struggle with life and death and the moral issues which they face. It is often uncomfortable to watch but at all times fascinating.

These real-life events have been the subject of several books and also films most notably Alive (1993). Bayona therefore is setting out on well-trodden ground, but he is a good storyteller. He has created a serious film about young men who were determined to survive in conditions where humans are not known to survive. It is a grim story told in measured tones. It is a solemn film but it is well worth seeing.