December 22, 2023
FILM: SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
DIRECTED BY: J.A. BAYONA
STARRING: ENZO VOGRINCIC, SIMON HEMPE, RAFAEL FEDERMAN
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The story of the rugby team that crashed into an Andes mountain in the 1970s has been told previously in both book and film forms. What has been typically focused on (or remembered) is how the young men survived: in part by resorting to cannibalism. At least, that’s the way people seem to talk about this story. Filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) takes a more complete look at this most harrowing experience in Society of the Snow, but he never tries to sensationalize it or overly emphasize that part of the story.
When we first meet the lads they are energetic and typical of young men in their late teens and early twenties. They’re loud, boisterous, and overly confident about their success in Uruguay. They then head on a flight to Chile where their excitement continues. They laugh and cavort on what, for some, is their first plane ride ever. At this point in the film, we don’t really get to know the individual men very well. Few are given any development to make them distinctive. This is a bit of an issue I had early on. Previously, Bayona directed 2012’s The Impossible, about the horrendous Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. He allowed us to get to know the main characters played by Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland before the tragic wave struck. This time it is really only the character Numa Turcatti whose internal perspective we get to know through some voice over narration by actor Enzo Vogrincic (if you watch the film dubbed into English, you get another actor entirely.) His story seems the most personal and fully explored. The others are a bit interchangeable.
When the horrific plane crash occurs, which is pretty early in the film, many characters die, but who a lot of them are is not real clear. The scene itself is pretty difficult to watch, if extremely effectively shot. The fast-paced editing and horrifying sounds of screams and bones cracking as the plane hits the ground create a gruesome account of what these men experienced. (It’s especially not an easy watch if flying isn’t your favorite mode of transportation.)
The film then turns its attention to survival and this is where it really excels as a piece of thought-provoking cinema. The men have to deal with the death of their friends but then how to survive. As food becomes scarce very quickly, they contemplate eating the bodies of those who have passed. What is most interesting about this is they really debate the ethical and religious aspects of what they are considering. Would God forgive them? Are they just lucky and therefore must do what they need to do to survive? Is it even legal? Are the dead donating their bodies similar to the way people donate organs after they have passed? It explores how faith changes in a time of major crisis. The script handles all of this very delicately. Bayona never creates scenes that are gratuitous in any way. What they eat becomes just one of several challenges they must meet to survive.
Just when you think the film might have hit its high energy point with the plane crash, several other harrowing moments occur: the snow and wind of nightfall, the climbing of steep mountains, and one particularly devastating avalanche that buries some of the guys in snow. All of this is handled cinematically with a great use of sound effects and editing. The film really deserves Oscar nominations in these categories. Some of the interior scenes are exceedingly well directed from a sound perspective as we hear the approaching rumble of the fast moving avalanche. Such scenes reminded me of a couple of my favorite classic films that also handled the perspective of sound from inside in particularly chilling ways (All Quiet on the Western Front, Mrs. Miniver.)
Cinematography is also stellar, especially the shots from various perspectives on the location of their crash and its absolute smallness in relation to the giant mountains and snow surrounding them.
Some might be reminded of the television series Lost as well as the 2010 film 127 Hours while watching this film. The horrors of being lost and trying to survive are certainly on display in each of these productions. This one though is particularly well created and philosophically interesting. It’s a difficult watch, but one you won’t soon forget.
Society of the Snow begins a limited theatrical run this week and will then stream on Netflix in January.
FILM: SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
DIRECTED BY: J.A. BAYONA
STARRING: ENZO VOGRINCIC, SIMON HEMPE, RAFAEL FEDERMAN
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The story of the rugby team that crashed into an Andes mountain in the 1970s has been told previously in both book and film forms. What has been typically focused on (or remembered) is how the young men survived: in part by resorting to cannibalism. At least, that’s the way people seem to talk about this story. Filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) takes a more complete look at this most harrowing experience in Society of the Snow, but he never tries to sensationalize it or overly emphasize that part of the story.
When we first meet the lads they are energetic and typical of young men in their late teens and early twenties. They’re loud, boisterous, and overly confident about their success in Uruguay. They then head on a flight to Chile where their excitement continues. They laugh and cavort on what, for some, is their first plane ride ever. At this point in the film, we don’t really get to know the individual men very well. Few are given any development to make them distinctive. This is a bit of an issue I had early on. Previously, Bayona directed 2012’s The Impossible, about the horrendous Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. He allowed us to get to know the main characters played by Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland before the tragic wave struck. This time it is really only the character Numa Turcatti whose internal perspective we get to know through some voice over narration by actor Enzo Vogrincic (if you watch the film dubbed into English, you get another actor entirely.) His story seems the most personal and fully explored. The others are a bit interchangeable.
When the horrific plane crash occurs, which is pretty early in the film, many characters die, but who a lot of them are is not real clear. The scene itself is pretty difficult to watch, if extremely effectively shot. The fast-paced editing and horrifying sounds of screams and bones cracking as the plane hits the ground create a gruesome account of what these men experienced. (It’s especially not an easy watch if flying isn’t your favorite mode of transportation.)
The film then turns its attention to survival and this is where it really excels as a piece of thought-provoking cinema. The men have to deal with the death of their friends but then how to survive. As food becomes scarce very quickly, they contemplate eating the bodies of those who have passed. What is most interesting about this is they really debate the ethical and religious aspects of what they are considering. Would God forgive them? Are they just lucky and therefore must do what they need to do to survive? Is it even legal? Are the dead donating their bodies similar to the way people donate organs after they have passed? It explores how faith changes in a time of major crisis. The script handles all of this very delicately. Bayona never creates scenes that are gratuitous in any way. What they eat becomes just one of several challenges they must meet to survive.
Just when you think the film might have hit its high energy point with the plane crash, several other harrowing moments occur: the snow and wind of nightfall, the climbing of steep mountains, and one particularly devastating avalanche that buries some of the guys in snow. All of this is handled cinematically with a great use of sound effects and editing. The film really deserves Oscar nominations in these categories. Some of the interior scenes are exceedingly well directed from a sound perspective as we hear the approaching rumble of the fast moving avalanche. Such scenes reminded me of a couple of my favorite classic films that also handled the perspective of sound from inside in particularly chilling ways (All Quiet on the Western Front, Mrs. Miniver.)
Cinematography is also stellar, especially the shots from various perspectives on the location of their crash and its absolute smallness in relation to the giant mountains and snow surrounding them.
Some might be reminded of the television series Lost as well as the 2010 film 127 Hours while watching this film. The horrors of being lost and trying to survive are certainly on display in each of these productions. This one though is particularly well created and philosophically interesting. It’s a difficult watch, but one you won’t soon forget.
Society of the Snow begins a limited theatrical run this week and will then stream on Netflix in January.