Juan Antonio Bayona’s decision to make Numa Turcatti the narrator in Netflix’s Society of the Snow hides a fascinating reason, and it is what makes the movie a unique adaptation of the story. Society of the Snow was released worldwide on Netflix on January 4th and received a positive response both from the audience and the critics. The Spanish film contender for Best Non-English Language Picture at the 2024 Golden Globes tells the story of how a Uruguayan rugby team survived 72 days in the Andes after a terrible plane crash that occurred while they were traveling to Chile for a series of matches.
Society of the Snow is not the first adaptation of this story, as in 1993, the movie Alive already told the tale. One of the biggest questions upon its release was how different Bayona’s film would be from its predecessor. Although the movie covers the same events in a very similar and linear way, two key differences have been praised. First, the roughness and realism of the film sets it apart from the previous adaptation. Secondly, while Alive was narrated by an older Carlitos Paez, portrayed by John Malkovich, Society of the Snow is narrated by Numa Turcatti, which reflects a different approach that makes the film very powerful.
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Juan Antonio Bayona’s upcoming Netflix movie Society of The Snow, promises to be a more faithful adaptation of the story than the 1993 movie Alive.
Society Of The Snow Emphasizes The Stories Of The Dead Over The Survivors
One of the most distinctive things about this story is that, throughout the years, it has been commonly known by two different names that reflect opposite views of the event. As Numa says at the very beginning of the film, some people refer to the story as “The Tragedy of the Andes”, while some refer to it as “The Miracle of the Andes”. Numa Turcatti is not a part of Society of the Snow‘s 16 survivors as he died not long before the team was rescued. Bayona’s risky decision to make him the narrator, then, reflects his intention to emphasize the story of the dead over the survivors.
Considering that the fact that 16 people managed to survive 72 days in the Andes is extremely unlikely, that part of the story has produced fascination and drawn significantly more attention than the story of those who did not survive. While Bayona’s approach is placed somewhere in between the miraculous and the tragic, carefully naming every single person who dies at the moment of their death is just another proof of his intention to tell their story. Numa being the narrator, nonetheless, is a much stronger reflection of the role of those who didn’t make it back home in Society of the Snow.
Why Numa Is The Narrator, Despite Being One Of The Quiter Survivors
The decision to make Numa the narrator goes beyond Bayona’s intention to tell the story of those who died in Society of the Snow. It is fair to say that it emphasizes that approach as it sets the point of view in the mind of someone who did not make it to the end. However, Numa’s character is crucial to the story and tone of the film for other reasons. He is an outsider, since he was not originally part of the team, which is a very interesting place for a narrator. His role in the survival story also spawns some important issues.
Regarding the dilemmas the survivors have to face during their time in the Andes, Numa plays a very significant role. A huge part of the story involves cannibalism, and Society of the Snow gives plenty of screen minutes to this issue and everything the survivors went through emotionally because of this. Numa’s mental process regarding eating the dead is one of the most interesting points of view. Furthermore, Numa is the last person to die, which makes his story extremely tragic but, at the same time, a source of motivation for the rest to finally make it out of there.
How Society Of The Snow’s Numa Turcatti Compares To Accounts Of The Real Person
Society of the Snow‘s accuracy also reflects on its portrayal of Numa Turcatti, wonderfully played by Enzo Vogrincic. The character is a faithful reflection of what has been told of him by the survivors. In Pablo Vierci’s book upon which Society of the Snow is based, fellow survivor Fernando Parrado refers to him as a silent hero, a source of hope and inspiration, and someone who, despite being unknown to the group before the accident, quickly gains everyone’s trust and respect.
