8 Hidden Details In Society Of The Snow That Make Netflix’s Movie Even More Powerful

Summary

• Society of the Snow meticulously captures the realism of the 1972 Andes plane crash, with attention to detail in every aspect, including dialogue and costumes.
• The film features real-life survivors and family members, including survivor Carlitos Páez playing his own father and survivor Nando Parrado appearing in an airport scene.
• The use of real names of the deceased, the filming at the actual crash site, and the chronological shooting process all contribute to the authenticity and commitment of Society of the Snow.

J.A. Bayona’s epic survival movie Society of the Snow was made with incredible care and thoughtfulness to the real-life survivors and the families of the deceased. While there are several differences between Society of the Snow and the 1993 film Alive, which both chronicle the same amazing true story of the horrific 1972 Andres plane crash, Bayona’s film goes above and beyond to capture the realism of the events as much as possible down to every line of dialogue and costume choice. Society of the Snow premiered on Netflix on January 4, 2024, and is currently the number one movie on the platform’s Top 10 list in the United States.

Society of the Snow is told entirely in Spanish to replicate the Uruguayan rugby team who make up many of the survivors of the infamous plane crash. The film is Spain’s official entry for the 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature and was recently nominated for a Golden Globe in a similar category. Bayona, who received his first writing credit with Society of the Snow, is a prominent director known for his work on The Impossible, A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Bayona worked closely with Pablo Vierci on the screenplay, who wrote the book of the same name and grew up with many of the survivors and the deceased.

8 Parts Of Society Of The Snow Were Filmed At The Andes Crash Site

Some parts of Society of the Snow were actually filmed at the real-life Andes plane crash site. The region continues to be a dangerous place, so not all of the filming could be done there for safety reasons, with the majority of the fuselage scenes being shot at a ski resort in Grenada, Spain at an altitude of 2,000 meters. The crew was able to shoot there on three separate occasions capturing background and establishing shots, which took more than three hours to get to every time. It was a laborious but necessary part of the filming process that Bayona placed great significance on.

7 Survivor Carlitos Páez Plays His Father In The Film

Real-life survivor Carlitos Páez plays his own father in the film, who reads off the names of the 16 survivors toward the end of Society of the Snow. Carlitos’ father, Carlos Páez Vilaró, was a very famous artist and painter in Uruguay who died at the age of 90 in 2014. For the brief scene in which Carlos reads off the names in Society of the Snow, Carlitos is also portrayed by actor Felipe Gonzalez Otaño. It’s a beautiful full-circle moment in which the actual Carlitos Páez honors both his father and the remarkable experience he went through in the Miracle of the Andes.

6 Survivor Nando Parrado Appears In An Airport Scene

Real-life survivor Nando Parrado also appears in Society of the Snow as a family member of his younger self at the airport before Agustín Pardella’s depiction of him boards the fateful airplane. The real-life Nando Parrado has been heavily involved in the various depictions and retellings of the incredible true story, appearing as himself in many documentaries on the subject such as 2010’s I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plane Crash and 2006 Alive: Back to the Andes. He also served as an advisor on Alive.

5 Survivor Roberto Canessa Makes Cameo As A Doctor

The actual Roberto Canessa, who is credited along with Nando Ferrado as the people who made the remarkable 10-day hike across the Andes to Chile, also appears in Society of the Snow as a doctor who helps guide the fictional version of himself played expertly by Matías Recalt. In real life, Canessa became a pediatric cardiologist in Uruguay and a motivational speaker whose presence in the film guiding his younger self to long-awaited safety is one of the most meaningful hidden aspects of the entire movie.

4 Numa Turcatti’s Real-Life Nephew Appears In The Film

Numa Turcatti, who has a much more heightened role in Society of the Snow as the film’s narrator and protagonist than he does in Alive, sadly was the last person to die at the Andes plane crash site. Numa is remembered thoughtfully in Society of the Snow by the presence of his real-life nephew Joaquín De Freitas Turcatti. This type of hidden detail would never have been known just by watching the film alone but adds a hidden layer of depth and emotional power to the survivors and the Turcatti family. Numa’s real nephew says “goodnight” to Numa (Enzo Vogrincic) at the very beginning of Society of the Snow.

3 Society Of The Snow Uses Real Names Of The Deceased

While this may not be completely apparent while watching the film, Society of the Snow uses the names of the real-life deceased whereas Alive does not. There is one exception in the case of the pilots, whose names were left out of the Society of the Snow cast. This added detail contributes to the intention of the film which is intended to honor the living and the dead rather than focus on only one particular group within the whole “society”. Society of the Snow using the real names of the deceased comes from Bayona’s close and considerate relationships he formed with the survivors and the families of the deceased.

2 Many Cast Members Were First Time Actors

Many of the actors in Society of the Snow were based from either Argentina or Uruguay and some of them had absolutely no acting experience prior to appearing in the film. This was done by Bayona and his team in order to add to the societal sense of the community without trying to elevate any one character above others. While Alive featured movie stars such as Ethan Hawke, Society of the Snow featured essentially all actors with minimal or no acting experience to give power to the names of the real-life people involved versus the star power of any given actor.

1 The Film Was Shot Chronologically To Capture The Actors’ Physical Changes

One of the most interesting hidden aspects of the Society of the Snow filming process was how the actors all employed a method approach to the film. Bayona shot the entire movie in chronological order, which is extremely uncommon due to financial and practical considerations, in order to capture the actual devolution of the actors’ bodies, from the characters’ weight loss to the length of their fingernails. While some directors may have opted for shortcuts and workarounds to achieve this sense of realism, Bayona took many hidden steps to make Society of the Snow as accurate as humanly possible.