'Society of the Snow': J.A. Bayona on how the story is about 'extreme generosity,' not cannibalism

Filmmaker J.A. Bayona's Society of the Snow (now on Netflix) is an incredibly emotional and visually compelling movie, based on the true story of the rugby team on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes in 1972.

While much of what has been written and highlighted about this grim event has been about individuals having to resort to cannibalism to stay alive, Bayona's perspective for the film goes far deeper.

Where to watch Society of the Snow: Netflix on Jan. 4
Director: J.A. Bayona
Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Vegezzi, Fernando Contingiani, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, Tomas Wolf, Agustín Della Corte, Felipe Gonzalez Otaño, Andy Pruss, Blas Polidori, Felipe Ramusio, Simon Hempe, Luciano Chatton
Runtime: 144 minutes

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What is 'Society of Snow' about?

Based on the book by Pablo Vierci, the Spanish-language film introduces us to the rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay.

The protagonist in Bayona's film is Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic), who begins by narrating the story, setting up for Bayona's depiction of the crash, and the aftermath.

There were 40 passengers and five crew members on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 on Oct. 13, 1972, when the plane crashed in the Andes, in the Valley of Tears. Of the 45 people on the plane, 29 survived the impact, and two and a half months later, 16 were rescued alive.

These people were trapped in the remote area, in extreme cold temperatures, eventually having to resort to cannibalism, eating human flesh of the people who died, to stay alive.

Bayona's incredibly effective in translating the extremity of the situation, feeling the isolation, and the panic and terror, going between shots that show how expansive, but remote, the area is, and moments that feel uncomfortably claustrophobic.

Some scenes were actually shot in the Andes, in the space in the Valley of Tears where the plane crash happened, adding a brilliant layer of authenticity and realness to the film.

Paired beautifully with a score from composer Michael Giacchino, it's an incredibly impactful and affecting film.

'More interested in the emotions and not the facts'

What really comes through in Society of the Snow is the strong emphasis on the emotions of these people trapped in the Andes, specifically honing in on the complexity of grief for the ones that survived. Grieving the loss of a friend while wondering why they were able to survive.

Bayona highlighted that much of that came from Vierci's book, published more than 30 years after the accident.

"It has the gravitas, the weight of all the time that had passed and all the unanswered questions that the survivors still have at the moment," Bayona told Yahoo Canada. "And actually, that was what I was more interested about."

"I knew the facts. There were already two movies out there and lots of documentaries, but that layer, that was almost spiritual, that was very interesting. More interested in the emotions and not the facts. The way to talk about that, it took me a long time. I had to work on the script for a couple of years until I found out that it was by telling the story through the eyes of Numa that I was getting into this almost philosophical approach to the story."

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For Roberto Canessa, a survivor, played by Matías Recalt in the film, there were a number of factors that made him particularly confident in Bayona's approach to telling this story.

"I do medicine and I learn about technology, and I do echocardiography, and you can have a three-dimensional heart in your hands with all the diseases. I wanted a three dimensional movie with all the technology, and have the chance to see the magnificence of the Andes, and the music by [Michael] Giacchino is spectacular," Canessa said.

"It's an incredible experience to see my friends interacting once more, 50 years later, and this is what I want to tell [people], why they should go there and release themselves. Let your soul get into the mountains in order to gain all the knowledge that we gained, after adapting from rugby players to the Society of the Snow. A society where death was everyday there, ... a society with a proximity of God that is not common in the civilized world."

'It's not about cannibalism, it's about extreme generosity'

When anyone looks up information on the 1972 plane crash, likely one of the first things they'll see are stories that emphasize the cannibalism part of the story about survival, and death.

In an interview with with Today, Canessa, reflecting on making that decision in the Andes, said, "I thought if I would die, I would be proud that my body would be used for someone else."

Bayona stressed it's that particular mentality that is key to translating that part of this story effectively.

"Instead of putting the accent on eating the corpse of a friend, it's telling the story through the eyes of that friend who gives his body for his friend to go back home," Bayona said. "That's such a meaningful change."

"It's not about cannibalism, it's about extreme generosity. It's about love. It's about friendship. ... Just by changing the perspective of the story and telling it through the eyes of these other people."

Canessa highlighted that grieving under these extreme circumstances is much different than experiencing death in other ways.

"The perspective is completely different when someone dies and you go to the graveyard, and you're sorry for the family," Canessa said. "In the mountains, dying was an everyday thing."

"The line between life and death was very slim. When someone else died, you are sorry for yourself, because you were the next one on the queue. So all these characteristics are what they are portrayed in the film, that makes it a learning film. It's an education. That's why I say, it's a family film. ... Everyone will see it with different angles. So this is one of the greatest values."

'I gave them the space to play with the characters, to commit mistakes'

In terms of the actors actually stepping into this harrowing story, having to portray these incredibly difficult circumstances, Bayona said it was possible because there was a lot of "trust" developed among the cast and crew.

"I gave them the space to play with the characters, to commit mistakes, to risk," Bayona said. "I love that."

"I gave them all the information. We spent two months doing rehearsals, they read the book, they were in contact with the survivors, or the families of the deceased. But then we spent 140 days shooting and we went through all the journey in chronological order. ... They went through the hunger because they were following a very strict diet. They went through the cold, because we were shooting in real locations. ... They were not able to see their families, to see their girlfriends."

Watching the film based on his real life, Canessa said it took him right back to those moments.

"I was back again in the fuselage, in conversation with my friends, and especially the last part where we climb the mountain," he said. "It's so great, and how ambitious we were thinking that we reached civilization and 10 days later, ... sent two helicopters to rescue them."