WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Society of the Snow.
The new disaster film Society of the Snow retells the remarkable true story about a Uruguayan rugby team whose flight crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. The story has previously been dramatized in the 1993 movie Alive which was directed by Frank Marshall (Eight Below) and starred Ethan Hawke as the real-life Nando Parrado. While there are several major differences between the 1993 film and J. A. Bayona’s (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, A Monster Calls), Society of the Snow, both movies depict the astonishing true story of endurance, survival, and the desperation to stay alive by any means necessary.
Society of the Snow is Spain’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards and is nominated for a Golden Globe in a similar category. The film features a cast made of entirely South American actors, particularly of Argentine and Uruguayan decent, and is being heralded by families of the real-life passengers, both living and deceased, as the most honorable and accurate cinematic depiction of the events. Those who did survive and were eventually rescued after 72 days in blistering cold and dangerous conditions were forced to resort to cannibalism, feeding on the bodies of the deceased.
Society Of The Snow Cast & Real-Life Character Comparison Guide
The critically acclaimed survival movie Society of the Snow features an outstanding cast made entirely of Argentine and Uruguayan actors.
What Happens In Society Of The Snow’s Ending
Society of the Snow sees its characters go through harrowing conditions in physical, psychological, and spiritual ways. Towards the end of the movie, several passengers who had initially survived the crash died either by freezing or from one of several avalanches that caused some people to suffocate. Numa Turcatti (Enzo Gogrincic Roldán), who is one of the main characters throughout Society of the Snow, had been the person most reluctant to partake in cannibalism due to religious and moral conflicts. After Numa’s death, which is spearheaded by a leg injury he got while breaking through heavy snow, the group gained new inspiration to keep fighting for survival.
Roberto Canessa (Matías Recalt) and Nando Parrado (Agustin Pardella) had been two of the group’s leaders that searched for the tail end of the plane with the hope of finding batteries for the radio. Finding no other choice, the completed an intense hike that took them several days to walk back into civilization, reaching the outskirts of Chile, which is where their flight was originally going. Once Nando and Roberto were discovered by a passerby on horseback, a Chilean rescue team was dispatched and the other 14 survivors were saved, hospitalized, and became the source of an international media frenzy.
Where Was Society Of The Snow Filmed? Andes Disaster Movie’s Filming Locations Explained
Society of the Snow is a faithful retelling of the infamous 1972 Andes plane crash, and director J. A. Bayona was determined to use real locations.
Nando and Roberto Successfully Hiked To Chile
Nando and Roberto had designated themselves as the two volunteers that would trek across the Andes to reach Chile, which Nando in Society of the Snow predicts would take 10 to 12 days. Hiking that type of terrain would be incredibly challenging and dangerous for the most serious of mountain climbers, but Nando and Roberto were able to do it while still wearing the same casual attire they had flown in two months prior. The odds of their survival were remarkably slim, but their efforts led to the eventual rescue of the 14 other survivors who were forced to wait it out in the wreckage of the plane.
Numa Turcatti Was The Last Person To Die On The Mountain
Numa Turcatti, who was a pivotal figure of the group before his death, was the last person to die on the mountain. After one of the several avalanches trapped the survivors in the confines of the plane wreckage, Numa kicked a glass window and used a long pole to probe through the packed snow, which eventually led to the entire group being freed from the confines. In the process, Numa hurt his leg badly and lost his mobility, forcing him to become much more stagnant and therefore much more prone to sickness and freezing. Numa continues to be the voceover narrator of Society of the Snow even after his death.
Why Gustavo Wouldn’t Leave Without The Suitcase
When the other 14 survivors were recused by helicopter, one of them, Gustavo, refused to leave without a suitcase, going so far as to sit on the ground in protest even after the unimaginably grueling experience he was about to be saved from. This is because Gustavo was carrying all of the keepsakes and final letters of the deceased in the suitcase and would not board the helicopter without them. This is an example of the overarching sense of respect that the survivors had for the dead, which becomes a major theme of the ethics pertaining to the cannibalism in Society of the Snow.
How Many Days Society Of The Snow’s Survivors Were In The Mountains Before Being Rescued
Society of the Snow tells an incredible true story of courage and survival. Here’s how long the real characters in the movie managed to survive.
The 16 Survivors Were Rescued & Hospitalized
The sixteen survivors, who likely did not expect to be saved at that point whatsoever, were suddenly thrust back into the civilized world in an overwhelming and jarring way. Following what was undoubtedly the most isolating experience of their lives, the sixteen survivors became the center of the world’s attention and became subject to inspection from various medical professionals as well as dozens of journalists looking to get the inside story. Society of the Snow makes note of this complete tonal shift while also highlighting the magnificent joy and relief felt by the sixteen unlikely survivors.
The Real Meaning Of Society Of The Snow’s Ending
Society of the Snow presents nuanced perspectives on complicated subject matter in which the willingness to survive outweighs the moral issue of canibalism. The film spends a great deal of time examining the systematic approach that the survivors had to their feeding process as well as introducing the search for a greater meaning between those who died and those who survived. The film’s ending leaves this unanswerable question up to the audience to formulate their own opinions on the morals, ethics, and spiritual significance of the remarkable true story.
Society of the Snow smartly avoids casting judgment on or sensationalizing the true events and instead focuses intently on the actual actions, thoughts, and emotions pertaining to the people who lived it. The film courageously doesn’t attempt to fill in the blanks left by Numa’s unrealized faith in a higher power that, as several characters thoughtfully express, doesn’t mean much or necessarily apply to their situation. The ending of Society of the Snow celebrates the survivor’s incredible endurance and the lives they still have to spend with their loved ones rather than getting lost in the ethical gray areas or searching for some type of purpose in the darkness of immense tragedy.
Society of the Snow
- Release Date
- December 15, 2023
- Director
- J.A. Bayona
- Cast
- Matías Recalt , Agustin Pardella , Felipe González Otaño , Luciano Chatton , Valentino Alonso , Francisco Romero , Agustín Berruti , Andy Pruss
- Runtime
- 144 Minutes
