When my financial situation improves, I intend to restart my Netflix account and watch Society of the Snow, about the Uruguayan rugby team that crashed in the Andes in 1972.
I saw Alive, the 1993 film about the same story, back in the day. One thing that disappointed me about that film was how little attention it paid to the rescue. [Open spoilers for 30-year-old movie] Hernando Parrada and Roberto Canessa see grass, realize they’re getting to arable ground, cut to helicopters. The film doesn’t show the men’s exchange with the farmers who rescued them nor virtually anything that happened after.
Does Society of the Snow pay any more attention to their rescue?
Yes, there is a lot more shown of the rescuers and people back home when they find out there are survivors. Though I liked Alive (it’s been many years since I’ve seen it) Society of the Snow is a much better film. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.
I also give “Society of the Snow” a thumbs up.
I read the “Alive” book way back when, but I don’t recall if I’ve ever seen the movie. “Society” does cover the rescue sequence pretty effectively.
mmm
I read Alive but did not see the movie. I really liked the book. I’m looking forward to watching the Netflix movie.
Watched this a few nights ago. Vastly superior to the 1993 film. I like how they gave considerable more attention to the rescue. One thing that the film didn’t go into* was what the survivors ate post-rescue. ISTR reading somewhere that Canessa and/or Parrado griped to hospital staff about the meager rations the hospital had been feeding them so they wouldn’t eat too much too quickly and get sick(er). The men said that they basically ate the ranchers out of house and home the previous night to no ill effect.
The 1993 film also paid less attention to the avalanche. Or maybe it did, it’s been 30 years. The avalanche aftermath just went on and on and on and on … as it did for the survivors, I’m sure. So too for the audience. My god that must have been brutal beyond description.
*I’m sure they left out quite a bit, for the sake of not having the movie be four hours long and/or a documentary. Like Parrado having to pull rock-hard stools out of his ass with his own fingers to keep his intestines from literally exploding after he ate a mouthful of grass.
I don’t think the hospital was aware that they had eaten while stranded. The constipation was due to the high protein content of their diet.