The snow companyThe new survival thriller directed by JA Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible) dominates the ranking of the most watched films on Netflix and establishes itself as one of the current titles.
Presented as the closing film of the 80th Venice International Film Festival, the film focuses on the famous disaster known as “Plane crash in the Andes“ occurred on October 13, 1972. The story, which has become one of the most famous survival stories over time, focuses on the incredible vicissitudes experienced by a Uruguayan university rugby team whose flight to Santiago de Chile was in the middle collapsed of the Andes Mountains.
Of the 45 passengers on board, only 29 survived the initial crash, but remained trapped in one of the most inaccessible and hostile environments in the world. The catastrophe also became known to the extreme measures Adopted by athletes to stay alive, forced to feed on the bodies of their deceased teammates. The rescue of the last 16 survivors of the accident came after 73 agonizing days thanks to the performance of Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa who trekked across the Andes to seek help.
The Drama full of heroism The film that Uruguayan rugby players experienced immediately captivated the world of cinema and led to a number of adaptations, of which The Snow Society is just the latest addition. But which films have dealt with the plane crash in the Andes?
Survivors of the Andes (1976) by René Cardona:
The first film adaptation of the tragic story is a Mexican production from 1976 directed by René Cardona. The names in the cast include Norma Lazareno, Luz María Aguilar, Fernando Larrañaga and Hugo Stiglitz, the famous Mexican actor and director who was honored in 2009 by Quentin Tarantino in his Inglourious Basterds with a character of the same name, played by Til Schweiger. The film, adapted from the books Survive! by Clay Blair and Tabù – The True Story of the Andean Survivors by Piers Paul Read, was very well received by the critics, but became the center of controversy in our country due to the scenes of anthropophagy widely expected by the distributors. The aim was to arouse the curiosity of audiences who began to experience the beginnings of the cannibal film horror genre in the mid-1970s.
Alive – Survivors (1993) by Frank Marshall:
“The Disaster” was adapted again in 1993 with the acclaimed film “Alive,” directed by Frank Marshall. Alive is also based on the book Taboo – The True Story of the Survivors of the Andes by Piers Paul Read and is designed as a remake of the 1976 film. The main role is played by Ethan Hawke Fernando Parrado, who acted as a consultant on the set and supported the production in reconstructing the scene of the accident as faithfully as possible to the original.
The Snow Society (2003) by JA Bayona:
The Snow Society aims to shed new light on the events of the disaster by adapting Pablo Vierci's popular 2008 book of the same name, which collects the true testimonies of all 16 survivors of the accident. Directed by JA Bayona, the film was released on Netflix on January 4th and within days became the most watched film on the platform. In addition, as a testament to global appreciation, the film was selected to represent Spain in the Best International Film category at the 2024 Academy Awards.
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Also read: The Snow Society, what are the survivors of the Andes disaster doing today? The truth beyond the Netflix film
Also Read: JA Bayona's 'The Snow Society' Tops Most Watched Movies on Netflix: Here's Why You Should Watch It
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