Society of the Snow Review: An Emotionally Gripping Survival Story with Impressive Technical Elements

Society of the Snow is a gripping survival story filled with emotional moments and impressive technical elements.

Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), this Spanish-language film is based on true events and is a reminder of how Bayona can craft epic disaster/survival stories.  

Those familiar with the story of the Uruguayan rugby team (and their companions) whose plane crashes in the Chilean Mountains won’t be surprised by what transpires. But hopefully, everyone who watches feels that Bayona’s film does this story justice.

Society of the Snow isn’t for those with weak stomachs. However, it’s a fascinating, well-told film that should be on everyone’s radar. 

It begins with a voiceover by Enzo Vogrincic (who plays Numa), and we hear his voice throughout the film; the narration acts as a sort of diary of what he and the others are going through. 

Bayona — who wrote the script with Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques-Olarreaga, and Nicolas Casareigo — expertly starts the movie with just the right amount of set-up. We are familiar enough with the characters and their relationships when the plane crashes.

Fortunately, the screenplay doesn’t waste much time introducing the crash so that the inciting incident occurs early enough in the film to make an impact. 

Speaking of that plane crash, it is terrifying and haunting, thanks to top-notch sound work, visual effects, and cinematography.

Society of the Snow features a large ensemble of characters, sometimes making it difficult to follow them all. Even though Numa provides the voiceover, he is not the film’s lead.

There is no true lead in this case, which makes perfect sense. Because they have to work as a team to survive their perilous situation, it is only fitting that Bayona’s film would be an ensemble piece. 

The ensemble consists mainly of unknown actors who give admirably real, frightened performances. They’re given some dramatic material to work with, in addition to jokes and banter that help sell the bond among these teammates.

Some bits of dialogue stick, such as when Arturo (Fernando Contingiani) — in a dying state — tells Numa that he has faith and believes in a different type of God than most people do. 

Society of the Snow doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to telling this story, which aims to be as accurate to real events as possible. 

When people die, we see their names and ages onscreen, which emphasizes the sad tragedy that occurred. Also, the brief flashbacks to moments pre-crash occur after a person has died (or right before), thereby giving voice and personality to the people who died. 

Some of what takes place onscreen isn’t shocking, such as the remaining survivors resorting to cannibalism. However, this subject matter is depicted as unique and seemingly authentic.

It asks, “How far would you go to survive?” And, even though characters are adamant about not doing certain things, eventually, it’s eat [human meat] or die.

This is something we’ve seen before in other survival movies and TV shows — namely, Yellowjackets, which is fictional. Because Bayona’s film is fact-based, what happens to the characters is more impactful.   

As previously mentioned, the technical aspects of Society of the Snow are firing on all cylinders here. It’s easy to see why the film was recently shortlisted for makeup/hair, original score, and visual effects at this year’s Oscars. 

The makeup work is thoroughly impressive; they often look gaunt, bloodied, dehydrated, malnourished, and genuinely unhealthy. 

Michael Giacchino’s original score is used sparingly and precisely. It magnificently connects to what the characters are going through. The visual effects are most effective when conveying the sheer terror and danger of such a devastating plane crash. 

Unfortunately, the sound work did not make the shortlist, but it would have been deserving. It’s most noticeable during the crash but also well-crafted in the scenes when the survivors experience such things as a winter storm-caused avalanche. 

When the survivors are rescued, we feel as relieved, heartened, and celebratory as they do. The ending is emotional and touching, especially as Numa continues to narrate after his death. 

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Society of the Snow is now streaming on Netflix. 

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