The flight of a rugby team crashes on a glacier in the Andes. The few passengers who survive the crash find themselves in one of the world’s toughest environments to survive.

The 1972 Andes flight disaster that saw a team of Uruguayan Rugby players and their friends & families stranded in the Andes in winter for over 2 months after a plane crash has already been brought to the screen in ‘Alive’, an early 1990s American movie that tackled this remarkable story. I’ve not seen that film before, but I’d be surprised if it betters ‘Society of the Snow’, a poetic, enthralling and meditative piece of filmmaking from J.A. Bayona that does for airplane disasters what his even more brilliant ‘The Impossible’ did for tsunamis.

‘Society of the Snow’ wastes little time in getting to the plane crash, with a brief setup to introduce some of the characters followed rapidly by a frenetic crash sequence that leaves the majority of the passengers and crew alive (if barely, in some cases). It then follows the story of the survivors and how they managed to survive in freezing conditions with limited equipment in the middle of nowhere, before incredibly managing to find civilisation and rescue for the 16 individuals still alive. It is a movie that is about maintaining hope in a situation that is hopeless, the strength of the human spirit and the will to survive at all costs.

J.A. Bayona brings the story to life beautifully, and I particularly loved how he contrasted the gorgeous setting amidst the snowcapped Andes with the desperate situation the survivors find themselves in. As one survivor puts it, this would be a beautiful place if their plight was not so dire. I did think it may have benefited from a narrower focus on its characters, as I felt by trying to give time to so many I was a little lost in following who was who, which meant some of the deaths didn’t hit as hard as if I felt I knew the characters better. That being said, I do think the point is not to focus in on 1 or 2 heroes in a situation where every individual played an important part in keeping as many of their fellow survivors alive.

‘Society of the Snow’ is a gripping disaster thriller based on a remarkable true story, with J.A. Bayona’s expert direction bringing it to the screen superbly, and it’s well worth watching on Netflix just now.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: J.A. Bayona

Starring: Enzo Vogrincic Roldán, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Tomas Wolf, Diego Vegezzi, Esteban Kukuriczka, Francisco Romero, Rafael Federman, Felipe González Otaño, Agustín Della Corte, Valentino Alonso, Simón Hempe, Fernando Contigiani García, Benjamín Segura and Rocco Posca

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt16277242/