The first major Netflix film of the year starts today. It tells the story of a tragic plane crash and the relentless fight for survival afterwards.
In 2024, Netflix is once again releasing some promising original films that you should definitely keep an eye on. First up is The Snow Society, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year. After a limited cinema release, it is now officially available for streaming
The Snow Society on Netflix: After Lord of the Rings, J.A. Bayona stages a fight for survival in the Andes
The Snow Society is the new film from J.A. Bayona, who most recently brought the Lord of the Rings series to Amazon: He directed the first two episodes of The Rings of Power. He was also in the director’s chair for Jurassic World 2 and Seven Minutes Past Midnight.
For his latest directorial work, however, a completely different film in his oeuvre should be of interest: The Impossible. In it, Bayona tells the true story of a Spanish family who survived the 2004 tsunami. Now he has turned his attention to another disaster that has gone down in the history books
Here you can watch the trailer for The Snow Society:
The survival drama The Snow Society is based on the novel La sociedad de la nieve by Pablo Vierci. In it, the author describes the catastrophe of flight 571 in 1972, in which 29 of the 45 passengers lost their lives. The plane was supposed to be carrying a Uruguayan rugby team from Uruguay to Chile.
However, it had a fatal encounter with a mountain over the Andes. In the collision, the plane loses a wing and is torn in two. The people who survive the crash then have to fight for survival in the icy environment for 72 days. The food issue is particularly tricky.
Many of the devout rugby players struggle with the idea of eating human flesh (from deceased colleagues), which leads to a major conflict within the group. However, given their situation, they have little choice. If they want to survive, they have to cross boundaries that no human wants to cross.
Get it now: The book template for The Snow Society at Amazon
Before The Snow Company on Netflix: The catastrophe of Flight 571 has already been filmed twice
In case this sounds familiar: Yes, the thriller series Yellowjackets was inspired by the devastating events of 1972. In addition to numerous documentaries, there are also two feature films that deal directly with the struggle for survival of the passengers of Flight 571, one from 1976 and one from 1993.
Survival! (1976): The first film adaptation of the disaster comes from Mexico and was made four years after the plane crash. René Cardona, one of the biggest names of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, directed the film with Hugo Stiglitz. It was based on the novel Survive! by Clay Blair.
Survive (1993): The Hollywood version of the story was directed by Frank Marshall, who produced the Indiana Jones films among others, and is based on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read. Ethan Hawke takes on the leading role in the adaptation
Now we can look forward to seeing how The Snow Society compares to the other film adaptations. There is already advance praise: Spain is sending Bayona’s work into the Oscar race for Best International Film. Although it has not yet been nominated, The Snow Society has been on the shortlist for the category with 14 other films since December. The nominations will be announced at the end of January.
