Society of the Snow

I picked it to win the Oscar for the Best International Film.

First of all, remember that Society is in Spanish with subtitles. Directed by J.A. Bayona, it tells a tragic story of the Uruguayan plane that crashed in the Andes Mountains on October 13, 1972. Carrying 45 people that included a rugby team trying to reach Chile, most of the passengers died as the plane crashed and split in half.

Given that rescue planes couldn’t find them, the survivors faced starvation if they didn’t freeze to death. On top of that, the plane’s remains that they used was soon buried in an avalanche. Some couldn’t be found and suffocated.

Though the film had many wonderful performances, I will only focus on Roberto (Matías Recalt) and Nando (Agustín Pardella), two young boys who risk death trying to climb the mountains to reach Chile for help. Despite knowing that they might die on their journey, these boys were surrounded by loved ones, many of whom died in their arms.

However, what dominated this heart-breaking film is the fact all the survivors had to choose starvation or to eat their dead friends. Most of them wrestled with starvation or cannibalism. Yet to paraphrase what one dying friend said, “Please feel free to eat me when I die. I welcome it.”

With the efforts of Roberto and Nando, two helicopters arrived 10 weeks after the crash and 16 survived. The movie ends in a magnificent scene where they were reunited with crying relatives and friends.

This is one of those unique movies that keeps the viewer both enthused and depressed. There are some great scenes in the Andes and the plane crash will leave many of you with one hand over your eyes.

But the moral of this film involves friends eating dead friends to survive. Before condemning it, think what you would want a loved one to do in those horrible circumstances.