Netflix's new film Society of the Snow tells a harrowing true story. The movie is inspired by Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, a plane that crashed in 1972, leaving the surviving members of a rugby team stranded for 72 days in the Andes Mountains.
How accurate is Netflix's Society of the Snow? The Netflix movie is extremely faithful to the true story, apart from some minor differences. For example, the plane didn't fly straight from Montevideo to the mountains where it crashed in real life.
How many are still alive from Society of the Snow?
Of the sixteen original survivors depicted in Society of the Snow, fourteen are still alive today and were directly involved in the development of the film. Many of the survivors seen in Society of the Snow went on to become authors and motivational speakers.
The next day, Oct. 13, 1972, the plane took off again and was flying through the Andes when the co-pilot at the controls started to descend, mistakenly thinking he'd cleared the mountain range. The aircraft hit a mountain, breaking both wings off and causing the fuselage to slide down a mountain.
What is the true story behind Society of the Snow?
The film depicts the real-life events of the crash of Flight 571 — from the day Uruguay's Old Christians Club rugby team left for a match in Santiago, Chile, to 72 days later when 16 survivors finally came home.
Did the actors in snow Society have to lose weight?
4 Society Of The Snow's Actors Really Lost Weight
Thus, director J.A. Bayona wanted the actors to lose weight over time in a similar fashion to the real-life survivors. Because of this, the actors were on a strict diet throughout the film, allowing them to gradually lose weight throughout filming.
Society of the Snow, inspired by the true story of the 1972 Andes plane crash, captures incredible realism through the use of actual photos and footage, unknown actors, and shooting on location.
Why didn't they make a fire in Society of the Snow?
The place where the plane crashed was not strategically visible, so it would have been pointless to try to make a fire. Furthermore, they didn't have enough flammable objects to cause such a big fire, which is why the lighter was used for cigarettes but never a signal fire.
The bodies of 18 of their friends, relatives and members of the flight's crew were frozen in the snow and the passengers' only chance of survival lay in the unthinkable: resorting to cannibalism and eating the bodies of the deceased.
What happened to survivors of Society of the Snow?
Today, in 2024, only 14 of the 16 survivors are alive. Javier Methol passed away in 2015 due to cancer, surviving almost 43 years after the crash. He was 36 at the time of the accident, the oldest of the survivors. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte, died in 2023, also of cancer.
Rescue helicopters arrived at the crash site on Dec. 22 but were only able to airlift out six of the 14 remaining survivors due to bad weather. The other eight were picked up the following day. After making it out of the mountains, Canessa went on to practice medicine and became a renowned pediatric cardiologist.
Nando made a superhuman effort, survived for 72 days, and found his way out of the Andes, after an 10-day snowy trek through the mountains with his friend Roberto Canessa.
Where are the 1972 Andes plane crash survivors now? Of the 16 survivors, 14 are still alive. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte died in 2023 of cancer, per the AFP, as did Javier Methol in 2015.
Using only materials found in the aircraft wreck, they climbed 839 metres (2,753 ft) from the crash site up 30-to-60 degree slopes to a 4,503-metre (14,774 ft) ridge to the west of the summit of Mount Seler. From there they trekked 53.9 kilometres (33.5 mi) for 10 days into Chile before finding help.
"Society of the Snow" is based on the remarkable true story of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes. For 72 days, 16 people managed to survive, dealing with extreme cold, starvation, and dehydration. Survival expert Cat Bigney explains how complicated surviving in those conditions would really be.
The charter flight was carrying the team to a match in Santiago, the Chilean capital. Twenty-nine people died, but 16 managed to survive 72 days under the most precarious conditions, without food, adequate shelter, or medical supplies for the injured.
Which is more accurate, Society of the Snow or Alive?
Society of the Snow tells a more authentic and dignified story of the Andes plane crash survivors compared to the Hollywoodized version in Alive. The movie portrays the trauma and suffering of the survivors in a tangible way, making their experiences feel more genuine and relatable.
Society of the Snow (Spanish: La sociedad de la nieve) is a 2023 survival drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and based on Pablo Vierci's 2009 book of the same name, which details the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's experience in 1972 after Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes mountains.
“We were able to shoot up to 4km of actual rock and snow in front of us combined with rear screen footage of the Andes for set extensions together with interiors shot on the backlot,” he explained.
The singer is known to suffer from attention deficit disorder (ADD), with some speculating that her latest weight gain could be a side effect of the medication used to treat the disorder.
The Netflix documentary provides behind-the-scenes photos showing the harsh conditions faced by the film crew at an altitude of over 13,000 feet. Some parts of the film were even shot at the real-life Valley of Tears, capturing the beauty and harshness of the landscape.
