On October 13, 1972, Flight 571 of the Uruguayan Air Force took off from Uruguay heading to Chile. However, the plane with 45 passengers on board never reached its destination and, instead, ended up stranded in the middle of the desolate mountains of the Andes 51 years after the tragedy, the film Society of the Snow will come to Netflix to tell us the heartbreaking story of the accident.
The survivors had to manage to get out of the inhospitable place, while at the same time fighting for their lives against the harsh winter, the scarcity of food and water, but above all against the desperation of imagining that perhaps they would never be rescued. 72 days was the time that the survivors had to remain among the snow and the Andes mountains until they were finally rescued. However, despite the great feat of staying alive for that long time, the passengers had to make a series of difficult decisions that marked them forever.
Without communication, mired in snow, and without food, survivors had to improvise shelters, face extreme temperatures, and eventually resort to cannibalism to survive. The idea of feeding on their deceased comrades was a heartbreaking ethical and moral dilemma that haunted the survivors for years because although it helped them stay alive, it represented a hard decision. Years later, Ramón Sabella, one of the survivors, revealed that the passengers made a pact in which they established and accepted that those who lived could eat those who died.
“In a sense, our friends were some of the first organ donors in the world: they helped nourish us and kept us alive,” Sabella said in an interview with the Times.
With no other choice and in a desperate attempt to seek help, some of the survivors undertook a dangerous trek through the mountains, braving brutal conditions to find help. Finally, Roberto Canessa and Nando Parrado managed to reach Chile after walking for several days to alert the authorities about the situation of the others.
The Rescue Finally Took Place on December 20, 1972
The story is an amazing testimony of resistance, solidarity, and the fight for survival in extreme conditions that was made famous by the film ‘Viven’ and which will now come to Netflix with the Film Society of the Snow.
When Does Society of the Snow Premiere on Netflix?
Society of the Snow will be available on Netflix starting January 4, 2024. The film was directed by J. A Bayona is based on the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci, which collects the testimonies of the survivors of the accident. We leave you the trailer so you can warm up your engines.
This story was written in Spanish by Mariana Martell in Cultura Colectiva.
