Society of the Snow

The Andean cordillera that cuts off Chile from Uruguay and the rest of the continent is so immense, when planes are lost in these mountains the chances of recovery are negligible. And in the winter months, there’s no sustenance, only snow melt. Famously — notoriously — in 1972, a plane carrying 101 people — many of them belonging to a rugby team — crashed in just these circumstances. A significant number perished in the accident, but in order to survive the remainder had to turn to the unthinkable… Previously filmed by Frank Marshall in the 1993 movie Alive (and an inspiration, probably, for Yellowjackets), this harrowing saga makes for compelling adventure drama without recourse to melodramatics.

Bayona (The Impossible) stresses authenticity along with the spiritual dimension of this prolonged near-death experience. As for the crash sequence… Brace yourself!

Grips with alternating waves of dread, horror and heart-swelling relief.

Guy Lodge, Variety

Society of the Snow contains all the thrills and masterclass filmmaking cinephiles expect in a great survival drama, but it’s the simple yet profound message that resonates the most.

Alex Saveliev, Film Threat