User reviews

The real life story of The Uruguayan rugby team and friends, who's plane crashed into a glacier over The Andes.

It's been many years since I watched Alive, a harrowing, but interesting film. I must admit I was staggered by just how good this film was. Upsetting, thought provoking, at times hard to watch, but one I couldn't turn away from.

It is very sensitively handled, the story is told in a very human way, they don't focus on the bleaker side of the story too much, so we're not forced to watch the more unsavoury parts, instead they focus more on the human spirit, the fight for survival.

I was worried that it would feel over long at 2.5 hours, but at no point did it dip, it went by very quickly.

It's very nicely produced, it looks so good, my advice, watch in its original form, with the subtitles, it's so much better.

Impressive.

9/10.

I am 61 years old and I remember well the events told in "La sociedad de la nieve". The film does not hide or underestimate what 50 years ago shocked the whole world, but - as the title suggests - it frames it in a broader context: what eventually humanity is. We are not the strongest race, nor the fastest, nor - for some time now - the most intelligent on our planet. But, as a group, we are incredibly resilient. Man is weak, but humanity is impossible to defeat. A message of great hope at a time when we are facing terrible challenges ahead of us. Not to be missed.

Amazing soundtrack by Michail Giacchino. After having watched the movie, listen to "Found" which beautifully captures the message of the whole movie with minimal use of instruments and notes.

I first read 'Alive' at age 10. Yeah, probably too young considering its heavy subject matter. That book changed my life, Straight-up SAVED my life. I've read that book at least 15 times over the years, I knew all the names, all the faces in the black and white photos in that winter wasteland. And of course when we read we imagine, we put our own visuals into our minds that best fit the narrative as we understand it thru the text on a page. The tragedy, the desperation, and the horror is what stands out at face value, and it IS a horrific story, but unfortunately most people know this story due to the consumption of human flesh to survive, but I assure you, this is NOT what this story is about and it never has been. The truth is the story of The Survivors of the Andes is a love story, the love for family, the love for friends, the love for life. The story of 'Alive' isn't about death, so make no mistake. And at my lowest points, when I thought all was lost, this is the story that would creep into my mind, and I would imagine (there's that word again: IMAGINE) what it must've been like to be on the side of that mountain, on that glacier, in that real-life scenario having to eat my dead friends as I freeze, knowing I'm starving to death, watching my brothers starve to death, dying from their injuries, freezing 13,000' up in the Andes and no one is looking for you, you know the search has been called off. ... and I'm trying to IMAGINE that, to visualize that, because REAL people lived this, experienced this, and its almost too much to comprehend, to visualize and IMAGINE what that was like, not only the outward visual, what you see with your eyes, the plane, the mountain, the scene, but also the emotion of that experience. How do you really ever understand the emotional aspect of such a terrible tragedy? The EMOTION involved in such desperate times. That's key here. How do you imagine that? You can't really, if you didn't experience it.

Imagine... In 1993, 19 years after I first read the book, Frank Marshall released his version of Alive in film form, with Ethan Hawke and I was beyond excited... but it failed to capture the emotion of the story, and for me, it pretty much failed in all aspects. A Hollywood-ized version of the book. A complete let down. If you haven't seen it, don't bother, I think it kinda sucks. It didn't capture what I had IMAGINED. It fell flat in my opinion but that was as good as it gets.

Even on the edge of life and death, the part of the story that ALWAYS really stood out to me was in the midst of all that sorrow and pain, physical and mental, the survivors never lost sight of the natural beauty that surrounded their crashed plane, their Home in Hell... the majesty of those mountains, with its sharp black rocks the size of buildings reaching to the heavens. It was a sight I NEEDED to see with my own eyes, I needed to stand in person where that plane had come to a stop, broken and twisted. I needed to see what they saw. I needed to sleep there for a night just to experience 0.0001% of the story of 'Alive.' If there was ONE place on Earth I needed to visit, it was the Valley of Tears in Argentina, high up in the Andes, one of the most remote places on the planet.

So I did in January 2016.

It is probably the most miserable night of my life. Cold, windy, hard to breathe because of the altitude, couldn't sleep for more than a half-hour at a clip and I wouldn't change it for the world. It was here, on this trip to South America, where I (we) met Alive Survivor Eduardo Strauch Urioste. He was part of the trip, part of our group, he accompanied us from the start in Mendoza, 12 of us in total. And as we stood as a group on that hallowed ground where the crashed plane once rested I was able to see that majesty of those mountains, that 2000' headwall to the west, the elongated rectangular 'famous rock' in the photos behind the plane. I was able to see the thousands of stars in the sky at night, not hampered by the lights of civilization, the glow of the endless snow in a location shrouded in blackness. And even then I would try to imagine the airplane, the conversations of the survivors, the sickening dread of being the last man alive, the sole survivor, possibly losing all sanity until he, too, is gone to the elements, forever nothing more than a memory.

Imagine... You cannot, I could not, even spending time in that exact location with a MAN WHO LIVED IT, who encouraged the questions from a bunch of strangers, nothing off limits, because one doesn't go to this place on a whim, you go to this place because it draws you there, it invades your mind, invades your heart. It won't let go, and it pulls you there. We all had our demons that led us to this place. Its a place of Salvation. It calls you in, yet I still could not truly imagine, envision, the reality of those 72 days in 1972.

Imagine... And then, after waiting for 48 years -- yes, 48 YEARS -- since I read that book as a boy, Director J. A. Bayona delivers the film 'Society of the Snow' and I no longer have to try to imagine, as I've now seen it, on film, on a big theater screen. AND IT IS INTENSE. Unlike the first 1993 film, this film has character development prior to boarding the ill-fated Flt 571, and it includes everyone, survivors and deceased, as it should.

Okay, the plane crash itself: you won't find a more horrific one on film. I remember my knees actually shaking when the pilot is trying to pull up, the sound of the roaring engines, the fear on the faces of the actors, the passengers... and then impact, and no imagining in the world lives up to this scene in the movie. Horrifyingly real from both outside and inside the plane. ... The accuracy of the crashed plane itself is almost exact, if not totally exact (I put pics of the real plane against the movie plane and it is ASTONSHING how accurate that crashed movie plane is to the real thing). I no longer have to imagine what it looked like, in motion, as if I were walking around it, because this film does that for us. I bring this up first because of course the airplane plays a central role and is the one central material object. In fact, the detail of this entire film is accurate, down to their clothing, sunglasses... And of course that leads to the mountains, because if you saw the '93 film you would know that didn't look anything like the real place, it looked like the Canadian Rockies, because they were. Not this movie: what you see onscreen IS the real location where this story takes place. Everything you see in those mountains surrounding that plane is the real place. You want realism, accuracy? Well, Society of the Snow delivers this with perfect detail.

Make-up: If this film doesn't win awards for make-up, someone on the Awards Board needs to be fired. This isn't "I'm Ethan Hawke and I won't grow a beard" bs. These actors literally look like they've been starving on the side of a mountain, their faces burned by the sun, the blistered lips, the filth from being stranded for two months, the injuries sustained in the crash. This is not a bloody gory film, nor does it need to be, but you do not doubt that these men have been stranded for over two months. The realism, again, leaves little to imagine, and that's why we're at this movie, right? To live this story as close as we can for those of us who were not there. Cinematography: The Andes are HUGE and this film captures the immense size of these mountains, this location, the distances so vast, so far. And I've been there so I can say on the big screen it does what is intended, to show the size and remoteness of these mountains, with that little unseen spec of a plane lost and invisible in the glaring white of snow and ice. Another thing the cinematography captures well is temperature. This isn't a little snow machine the film crew used, but instead you FEEL the cold, you feel the frozen nights, you feel the wind. You FEEL the SUFFERING of what you see on the screen. And in my mind probably the most important part of this film: you get to see the emotion behind the consumption of the bodies, the inner battle they had to face together, the pain of the situation that drove them to do the unthinkable, but as Nando Parrado once said in a documentary "The human brain will elevate you to heights you didn't believe were possible to survive. Had you been there you would have been one of us, doing what we did." No less truth has ever been spoken. This is of course a hard decision, but to see it played out with such competent actors on a crashed plane set that is an exact copy of the real thing, with the expressions of the fear of this act, and the revulsion, cannot be denied. This movie does not bring in the camera to the see the use of the knife, nor should it out of respect to all involved, families of the deceased, and the film doesn't need to. You know what is going on from afar, and I'm glad there is no sensationalism of this part of the story, but based in truth, and the actors really pull this off well, we feel for them, we see their pain in what they MUST do to survive and it is heart-wrenching.

No more imagining, THIS IS the film I've waited 48 years to see. 10 Stars. A-Plus and All That. Sorrow, Joy, and everything in between. You don't leave this film without it having an impact on you. It's not fiction.

All is forgiven Netflix. For all the subpar movies you have given us making us wonder why we are still signed up to your service, this movie makes up for all your shortcomings. It is that good.

This movie is truly a masterpiece. It made me cry, it made me hope and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way, all 144 minutes.

Superb acting , incredible direction and unforgettable cinematography. A truly impactful story masterfully told. Kudos to the production team for delivering such a powerful movie .

My only gripe is not having seen it in theatre. It would have been incredible to experience it on a wide screen . I also believe it could win some awards.

Thank you again Netflix y Felicidades y Bendiciones J. A. Bayona !

First, let's get something out of the way: "Society of the Snow" is not a remake of "Alive" (1993), just like James Cameron's "Titanic" wasn't a remake of 1958's "A Night to Remember", which also wasn't a remake of any previous Titanic-centered movies. This is the adaptation of a different book covering the story of the Andes survivors - another take on the same real-life event.

As directed by J. A. Bayona (back at the survival thriller genre after 2012's "The Impossible") and led by a group of unknown Uruguayan and Argentinean actors, "Society of the Snow" is not only authentically cast and produced, but powerfully moving in its conception of narrative.

There's an unexpected focal character here, but the movie plays out as an ensemble piece and, true to its title, portrays every person as essential to the outcome. There's a feeling that those who lost their lives were just as responsible for the ultimate rescue of their remaining friends as those who eventually reached civilization to seek help - not just for selflessly volunteering their bodies for food, but for providing comfort, solidarity, acceptance, even humor!, under the most dreadful of circumstances.

This is a movie that will stay with you. Please, don't miss out on it.

Gruelling and realistic (the plane crash particularly effective) in director J. A Bayona's capable hands-as he did in The Impossible the mix of realism and drama against nature within an unforgiving backdrop.

My only quibble is I couldn't work out who most of the characters were,it begins rather too quickly that their introductions were rushed or didn't happen thus the sympathy when one should perish is rather diluted. With beards,hollow eyes and skinny frames they all looked alike.

If the film follows just one character in the centre, the med student say , it wouldn't have been as confusing. I get that the film is a collective of the rugby team.as a whole.

As it is, its a bold film that I would have liked to have seen on the big screen.

Let me start off by saying that this is a really well made movie. I don't know which parts were cgi and which weren't because it wasn't very noticeable. It was just really well done. I've read the book 'Alive' not too long ago and I visited the museum in Montevideo, so I am very familiar with the story already. This movie was a nice addition. It really shows the harsh conditions that the victims had to face after the crash.

However, I think that 2,5 hours is just not enough to do justice to the story. There were a lot of things that I was missing in this movie, for instance, we didn't really get to know the people. There were a lot of quotes that I loved that were left out, and also some events were brushed over too quickly or just left out alltogether. But at the same time, the events that were shown were essential to the story. So honestly I think this story just needs to be retold in a mini series instead of a movie. Maybe than it will be possible to show the events as well as the people. Because right now I think everyone just needs to read the book since the movie left out a lot of things.

But overall, the movie was really well made and did a great job at showing the harsh conditions and the tragedy that the victims had to face. It is a really nice addition to the book to get some visuals with the story, but it is not a replacement. If you're intrigued by the story, please read the book as well.

There's a film about the Uruguayan rugby team crash landing in the Andes in the 70s. Alive. It's very good. Do we need another film telling the story? Well for starters this is all in Spanish, which makes it feel more authentic and there's more build up and back story. We get to know the players a little bit more, but still it doesn't wait too long to board the plane. They're off to play a match in Santiago. Taking off from Uruguay, the weather is good, the colours are vibrant. It looks beautiful. Everyone's happy. Excited. Smiling. Adventure awaits. Just not the one expected. They're kids on a plane. Jovial, having fun, until they're not. Do not watch this if you're due to fly soon. It is absolutely terrifying. The crash sequence is viseral. Chaotic. Flesh and metal twisted together. Blood. Bone. Panic. It's honestly a blessing to be killed rather than survive. Some do though of course and set out on an unimaginable hell. The night hits, the temperatures drop, how on earth do you comprehend the pain and anguish they endure. We can't of course, but Society of the Snow does help to give us a sense, at least visually even if we can't truly understand the hellish madness. Numa (Enzo Vogrincic) is our guide. He narrates. Giving us some inner insight, seeing how his team mates are reacting, the ones with hope, the ones already without, but to be honest this is such a stark story, it's impossible not to be pulled in by every deepening twist. They try to organise. Care for the wounded. Respect the dead. Conserve food. Wait for rescue. For all the horror, it's beautifully shot. The widescreen ratio accentuating the snowy mountain vista. Airplanes tease them in the distance, mere dots in the sky as the engine noise cascades around the mountain peaks. They're inventive it must be said. Nothing wasted, stripping what's left of the plane to make things as comfortable as possible. It is not comfortable. How long can you go without food? How long can you survive. If you don't know this story then I won't spoil it, but they go to some extremes, wrestle with moral questions than test their faith and humanity. It digs deeper than Alive. That film is not an easy watch, but the depths here are cavernous as fractions appear and splits occur. Marcelo (Diego Vegezzi) retains hope, talks of its importance as they others lose it. His faith part of his identity, but can that alone sustain you in such conditions. Adolfo (Esteban Kukuriczka) and Roberto (Matías Recalt) are more willing to embrace practical horrors. You can feel the cold. Sense the anguish. With each ray of hope extinguished, they hit new lows. It's utterly brutal. Yet this is not a woe is me story of defeat. Quite the opposite. It's the story of people who refuse to give up. Go to unfathomable lengths to keep going. You'll watch most of this with your teeth clenched. It doesn't deviate from the Alive timeline, why would it, but with a longer duration, uses the opportunity to flesh things out, so to speak. Both are great films, this one though, I think is amazing. It feels more rounded, more personal. Helped by the incredible end scenes that will have you smiling through the tears.

Having done research on the film only after I watched it, I realized how well director J. A. Bayona paid attention to detail, and recreated the actual disaster in every aspect.

On 13 October 1972, a plain carrying 45 passengers and crew, crashed in the Andes mountains due to pilot error. The surviving victims were only rescued after 72 days, and 'Society of the Snow' tells their story.

The crash scene was so well done, it made me quiver. And this set the stage for what was to follow. Their quest for survival began against impossible odds. They had no food, there were no vegetation, no animals they could eat, and temperatures plunged to -30 degrees at night. In order to survive, the survivors had to resort to cannibalism when the little food they had ran out - eating their dead friends.

Society of the Snow' effectively teaches us not to take anything for granted. There were so many moments that gave me gooseflesh. The happy back flashes of those who died made it all the sadder.

This is a harrowing film to watch. Due to the nature of the film, it was also very depressing, and disturbing. It is the kind of film that is so well made that it is difficult to watch at times - even unpleasant. In fact, it was so harrowing that I never want to see this film again. But, oh my gosh, the final moments had me in tears! What an emotional ending!

For such a detailed film, the director made one error: after two months in the mountains, some of the guys were still smoothly shaven. Would they have shaved under the circumstances? Apart from that, this is a very well-made film!

I had the pleasure of seeing Society of the Snow at the Stockholm International Film Festival today. It's rare these days that a movie makes a lasting impression on me. It was exactly like that this time. The execution is just amazing. I felt like I was there with the rugby team throughout the movie and after I finished watching it, I couldn't stop thinking about what I just saw. The cast is great. Very good acting skills and everyone resembled the actual people. There's suspense, there's drama, and there's even humor. Of all the adaptations, this one is by far the best. I highly recommend seeing it in theaters when it comes out.

"Society of the Snow" is an emotionally charged film that combines technical prowess with a poignant narrative. The message of the movie is simple yet impactful, and it's delivered without losing its power amid the dramatic retelling.

One of the most intense parts of the movie is the crash scene. It's made so real and scary that it might make some people think twice about getting on a plane. This scene, with its heart-stopping tension and chilling visuals, sets the tone for the rest of the film, as it confronts the audience with the fragility of life. The casting of Spanish actors adds a layer of authenticity to the film, and their performances bring the characters to life. The actors do a great job of making us feel the intense emotions and struggles that the real people must have gone through.

Despite the well-known nature of the story, "Society of the Snow" approaches its retelling with an elegant simplicity. It doesn't try to be overly clever or ostentatious, which is a breath of fresh air, especially when compared to other January releases that often feel like they're just filling space in the movie calendar. The film avoids sensationalism, focusing instead on the stark reality of its characters' plight. The movie doesn't shy away from the darker parts of the story, including cannibalism.

One of the most challenging aspects of the story is its depiction of cannibalism. The film handles this delicate subject matter with grace, presenting it as a grim necessity rather than a gratuitous shock factor. In an evocative scene, the survivors huddled together against the merciless cold, make the harrowing decision to do the unthinkable. The characters' anguish is palpable as they weigh their hunger against their humanity. The director presents this moment with such empathy that the audience can't help but feel an understanding of the characters' desperate choices.

However, the film is not without its shortcomings. After the initial shock and emotional engagement, the pacing slows, and the narrative starts to feel drawn out. At 145 minutes, some parts drag on and lose the tight grip on the audience's attention that it had in the beginning. Because of this, what could have been a gripping tale throughout starts to feel predictable and ordinary.

Additionally, while the film aspires to be emotionally stirring throughout, some of the scenes intended to evoke deep feelings fall flat. Whether due to the sheer length of the movie or the repetition of certain emotional beats, these moments don't always deliver the intended impact.

In conclusion, "Society of the Snow" is a film that tells a difficult story with dignity and technical excellence. Its straightforward storytelling and potent themes resonate strongly, even if the film's length and pacing issues prevent it from being as consistently engaging as it could be. It's a movie that's worth watching for its performances and the respectful way it handles its subject matter, but it might leave some feeling like it overstays its welcome.

While this is an incredible story, this film fails to make this event feel incredible. The actions sequences with the crash and avalanche were good and the landscapes of the mountains and snow did give this film a sense of hopelessness. However, this film fails with the characters. While I understand it's difficult to develop so many characters, the director could have focused on a handful and truly brought their stories to life. Each character felt lifeless and that made it difficult to feel for the characters despite their struggles.

I didn't like the narration in this film and the overall dialogue was just weak. This needed more emotion and I believe that's why this film is just okay when it could have been better.

One of the finest movies I have ever seen.

This movie is very restricted by definition. This number of people are in this location--an extremely restricted location, and not much varies for the entire length of the (long) movie. It could have been very repetitious. It could have gotten boring. It could have resorted to being gory and sensationalistic. There's no romance, no car chases or explosions, no comedy. So, everything rests on the power of the script, and the acting, and the cinematography. And those all came through!! The script did this real life event justice in exactly the way previous scripts did not! It was nuanced. It was poignant. The acting was superb. The characters well drawn. Powerful little moments, short moving speeches, moral dilemmas, existential questions, solidarity, tiny seconds of joy in the face of adversity. These actors starved themselves to play the roles realistically. You can't help but ask yourself repeatedly "What would I do?" in this situation and that.... I'm a big fan of Ernest Shackleton and the amazing story of his Endurance expedition. Many parts of this film paralleled that story (and if you enjoy this film and watching how people survive in extremely challenging circumstances then I recommend reading Shackleton's Way). In fact, I wish this director would create a great version of that Endurance story-- because no one else has captured it well. You get a feeling for the power of leadership (not just by one "leader" but by anyone who chooses to step up and influence the group in a positive way that leads to desirable outcomes). I was engaged the entire time. Hats Off! I hope it wins lots of recognition and awards.

We live in a world of fast food where it can even be delivered to your doorstep. Imagine a world where you have nothing except snow to eat. Where you have been abandoned by all search and rescue missions. Where you face death or eat the carcass of your dead friend.

This is not a horror movie. It is based very acutely on the facts that occurred during a crash landing of a charter flight on its way from Uruguay to Chile in 1972 carrying a rugby team and some guests. This is the third attempt at this subject in movie format and I think they finally got it right. It works on all levels. The stress, survival of the fittest, morals and philosophy of dealing with the most dire situation and uniting together to conquer the odds. I'm not giving anything away here since the story has been told in a book and a couple of movies. But this one is going to take the Oscar for best International Film 2024 no doubt. It is the strategy of Netflix but it deserves it. It delivers and they spared no expense to make sure it does. The mountain location work, aerial helicopter and drone shots, along with the actors starving themselves, makes for one of the most dynamic movies I've come across in awhile. I live in tinseltown and have worked on some of the big ones and I can stand by my word - this is a standout movie not to be missed. If you've ever spent time in the mountains you will so get it. The filmmakers certainly did - and deserve the statues they will receive for this epic film.

I've always loved the 1993 version (Alive) and seen it lots of times so I was always looking forward to seeing this. I thought it was pretty good... that is until the last 30 minutes - wow! So much emotion and completes the whole story that was missing from the 1993 version.

By no means am I saying this is a poor film, in fact the production was great and so much time and effort went into this going from the write ups prior to its release. Having relations involved from the true story also makes it more emotional.

If you find it long at almost 2hrs 30min just hold out to the last 30 minutes.

I know there have been many versions of the story told in this movie, but I haven't read or seen any of them, so this was all fresh to me.

This is not a movie I think I would ever want to watch again. The word "grueling" was pretty much invented to describe the experience of watching this film. But damn is this riveting, even if in a kind of morbid way. It's also a dazzling technical achievement, one of those films where the effects are so seamless you can't always tell what's special effects and what's real.

"Society of the Snow" is not primarily a character-driven film, yet I was impressed by how much I came to know and like all of the characters in this despite the fact that only two or three are given the majority of screen time. At first, I didn't even know who was who and only knew they had names because their character's name would be listed before their line of dialogue in the subtitles. But by the time the film was over I felt like a knew all of them and cared about them deeply.

This movie does a great job of showing the capacity humans have for normalizing behavior that in other circumstances would be unthinkable.

One of my favorite movies of the year.

Grade: A.

Already having seen Alive several times and being v familiar with the 1972 story, I honestly didn't believe it necessary to see this version.

However a good friend persuaded me to go see it and the rest is history!

This is without doubt the definitive version, the story is told with authenticity and a v keen Director's eye.

I was worried about the foreign subtitles, but needn't have been since it kept me in the movie and made the connection to all the players even more heartfelt.

This is a reminder to us all, that nothing is impossible and when facing insurmountable adversity the human spirit is capable of triumph! Inspirational and to those who died on that fateful and subsequent days in the Andes, they will never be forgotten 🙏🏿

The story itself is extremely powerful. The fact that it's very real makes it so much better, I honestly would think the whole thing is too much to maintain my suspension of disbelief, but IT DID really happen.

There's a lot of emphasis on a particular concern that made this whole accident famous worldwide, but I think they linger a bit too much on it.

In general, the issue is that this movie is incredibly sluggish and boring. I think they could have easily trimmed away 30 minutes and it would have worked much much better. The ending is definitely the best part of the movie, but the rest just refuses to get to the point.

Since the tsunami shocker THE IMPOSSIBLE with Naomi WATTS and Tom HOLLAND, it has been known that the Spanish director Juan Antonio BAYONA has a very good hand for disaster films. He stages the respective catastrophes in a powerful and visually overwhelming way, approaching those affected by an unexpected event with great tact and sensitivity.

Based on the novel LA SOCIEDAD DE LA NIEVE by Pablo VIERCI, BAYONA tells the well-known story of a rugby team from Montevideo in Uruguay that crashes in the Andes on a flight to Chile. What follows is a long ordeal lasting several months, which the few survivors only survive because they cross one last taboo...

This addresses the questions that none of us want to imagine: What would we do to stay alive in a hopeless situation? The author Pablo VIERCI probably went to school in Montevideo with some of those affected, but was not himself on Flight 571 in October 1972. Nevertheless, the plot seems very believable and also includes the perspective of those who didn't make it.

BAYONA has created a very excellent film that uses beautiful images to tell of the horror of the deepest abyss that people can fall into. The technically outstanding film was awarded two EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS for visual effects and make-up. It also received a GOLDEN GLOBE nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Completely right!

With films like THE PLATFORM, BELOW ZERO and most recently NOWHERE, the global streaming service NETFLIX has proven that it has an excellent hand for Spanish-language cinema. THE SOCIETY OF THE SNOW will most certainly continue this success story.

Adapted from Pablo Vierci's book that details the extraordinary tale of the survivors of the famed 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 plane crash, Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona takes a break from Hollywood productions such as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and A Monster Calls to return home to deliver an above average Netflix original that many will regard as the quintessential exploration of the 1972 Andes set true life survival tale.

Last told via the feature film medium over 30 years ago with Frank Marshall's Hollywood affair Alive in 1993, Society of the Snow details the tale of the survivors of Flight 571 is one many would be familiar with either in passing or in more detail but that doesn't mean Bayona's film is any less intense and insightful as the talented filmmaker throws us into the survivors plight that kicks off not too long into the films close to two and half hour runtime with one of the most visceral and bone shattering plane crash sequences delivered on screen with that moment setting in motion a standout production let down only by its inability to truly connect us with the "who" of the survivors.

Stunningly captured by cinematographer Pedro Luque, featuring some of the best score work in years from composer Michael Giacchino and brilliantly bought to life by Bayona's talented sound/editing department, Society is high class Netflix fare and you can tell there was labours of love instilled into this film from its cast and crew and when you're able to sit down and reflect/research on the real events that transpired to allow the survivors to beat the odds, you begin to understand that Society is a film that does justice to its real life incident and those that were a part of it but the lack of ever getting to know who these survivors really are, their friendships or what makes them tick works against the film becoming a genuine survival classic.

With Enzo Vogrincic acting as the films focal point as the determined Numa Turcatti, the presence who guides us for most of the screen time both in front of camera and through voice over work, Society attempts to bring home the human element of the crash survival group but while we can all be wowed by their impressive feats of human perseverance, humanity in the face of adversity and friendships Bayona and his loaded ensemble never come to life in the way that would've ensured this was an emotional charged offering that lingered in both hearts and memory long after the credits have rolled.

Far from an easy film to watch and rightfully so when one considers the hard to fathom necessities of what took place to even consider a life outside of the harsh Andes once more, Society isn't easy to digest film entertainment and is one that feels its length at times but it's one of Bayona's strongest films in years and one that is likely to be appreciated by audiences from around the globe who are gifted one of the most well produced survival films of the modern era.

Final Say -

Unable to find its beating heart amongst all the unforgiving snow, blustery winds and frozen meat, Society of the Snow is a stunning technical achievement that does justice to its real life tale but not so much to its real life survivors who remain mostly at arms length throughout this Netflix epic.

3 1/2 DIY sleeping bags out of 5

Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

This is an astounding piece of work, in that it deals with a subject that seems almost impossible to re-create: the crash of the plane in the Andes mountains in October, 1972, carrying a male football team from Uruguay. The young men who are cast in the roles of the surviving members are all amazing actors, and hold their characters in ways that are beyond imagining, as they would have to maintain the same character throughout the time that they had to film in the confines of the wreckage.

As a minor critique, I had a hard time distinguishing between the team members themselves, and lost track early on of which one was telling the story -- apparently I somehow could not associate the voiceover with the particular actor, and so I got slightly confused after trying to keep track of which cast member was the main protagonist.

What seems to be most astounding is how many of them were able to survive in the harshest of all climates, and to maintain their mental state in a situation that seems hopeless to say the least. This is a brilliant re-creation of the event and the outcome is equally astounding.

Everything about this film says that it is an Oscar-worthy project, and certainly deserves to win, with only one minor exception (as evidenced by my 9 instead of 10): the film is slightly too padded, and by removing something like 20 or 30 minutes (at least), the project would then become perfect. I know that the Director has his own viewpoint, but he should sympathize with those of us who are confined to squirming around in our seats after the first 90 or so minutes, and need to get out of the torture of watching such an ordeal without a break. But if that's done in order to emphasize the frustration felt by the team players, it succeeds tremendously.