Movie: Society Of The Snow (La Sociedad De La Nieve)
Production Company: El Arriero Films
Director: J. A. Bayona
Producers: Belén Atienza, Sandra Hermida & J. A. Bayona
Scriptwriters: J. A. Bayona, Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques & Nicolás Casariego
Main Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Felipe González Otaño, Luciano Chatton, Valentino Alonso, Francisco Romero, Agustín Berruti, Andy Pruss, Simón Hempe & Juan Caruso.
Release Date: 4 January 2024
Running Time: 144 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Synopsis Of Society Of The Snow (La Sociedad De La Nieve)
This emotive piece of cinema encapsulates the inspiring story of the victims and survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force flight. This film plays out the real-life events that happened before, during, and after the Uruguayan plane crash in the Andes.
Analysis Of Society Of The Snow (La Sociedad De La Nieve)
I have recommended this film to anyone who will listen, the story, acting, cinematography, and score are beyond praise. I think the most notable comment to be made of this film is the importance of the survivors’ individual stories, which J.A. Bayona built his screenplay around. This adaptation of the book, Alive, puts the true story and faith of the survivors at the forefront of the film, this was what
led me to my initial attraction. I personally already had an interest in this story after reading books and articles. However, watching this film gave me a more intimate and deeper understanding of what happened in the Andes.
I try to steer clear of films based on true stories or people if the experienced party is not involved in some way. After seeing the film advertised by the survivors themselves and how they are included in the writing and acting in the film I felt this film was a fantastically accurate and also ethically respectful adaptation of a real devastating event.
Inspiring
The story is one of the most harrowing and inspiring stories of faith and the human instinct to survive. Although the plausibility of the story seemed outlandish this only highlighted the most severe thing a human can live through, at moments it was hard to understand this film is not fiction. As the film is Spanish I watched this film with both subtitles and overdubbing and the acting performances stunned me
in both. The film’s main character, Numa, portrayed by Enzo Vogrincici narrates the story despite not being the lead of the film. We become attached to Numa much like the rest of the film’s characters, this made the impact of the story more emotive and touching.
I felt the cinematography of the movie perfectly encapsulates both vastness and claustrophobia. Pedro Luque’s brilliance is beyond effective in this film. Through wide shots, he shows the vastness of the snow and the tiny specs of human life and through the tight shots inside the plane he portrayed the tensions throughout those scenes. This was the first film that I had watched of Luque’s and, as it was the most
striking element of this film, I want to look further into his other works.
Sound
The sound design within this movie was astounding, this particularly stuck out to me when watching this film with subtitles. Indeed, the sound design was subtle throughout the film but enhanced the setting of the movie. This made the hyper-realistic environment even more compelling. The sound of the snow and the harsh wilderness was a constant reminder of their isolation. This really built the film up for me and I felt myself holding my breath as the anticipation of the snow and wind built in moments of perish.
As for the score, this has quickly become one of my top played albums since watching the film, the score in the moments of the rescue was one of the greatest scenes I have definitely seen from a Netflix movie. The most emotional moment of the film is perfected with a section of real-life film of the moment the 16 survivors are saved, affirming the accuracy of the retelling and reminding me that the film I
had just watched was a depiction that those people had lived through.
Summary Of Society Of The Snow (La Sociedad De La Nieve)
This film is undeniably one of the most enriching films of a true event within the last couple of years. So, I would urge anybody that wants a glimpse of pure human desperation to watch this masterpiece. However, there’s a warning: this film includes violent and disturbing material and brief graphic nudity.
