Society of the Snow Trailer Released by Netflix

Netflix just released a teaser trailer for Society of the Snow. J.A. Bayona’s drama will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on the closing night of the event. In the movie, inspired by a true story, a rugby team tries to fly to Chile for a competition. Tragedy strikes when the plane crashees and the remaining passengers are pushed to their limits trying to survive in the face of the brutality of the elements. Snow and the harrowing conditions make them all have to contemplate choices that most humans would never have to encounter. Bayona is excited for audiences to have to grapple with these decisions in Society of the Snow. Check out the trailer down below!

Here’s how the streamer described the tense movie: “In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which had been chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, crashed in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of its 45 passengers survived the accident. Trapped in one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet, they have to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.”

Why Make Society of the Snow Now?

When the director heard this story, he jumped on the chance to tell it on the big screen. Deadline spoke to Bayona about Society of the Snow and why he chose this particular narrative to bring to the big screen. (There had been a previous movie to tackle this story in 1993 with Frank Marshall’s Alive and another before that in the 70s.) Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Esteban Kukuriczka, and Tomas Wolf all star in the drama. But, it’s pretty clear from that clip up above that they’re not going to be having the greatest time with it. 

“I think I’m attracted to these very extreme stories. They might feel dark, but, in the end, they are very optimistic about life. I think that in order to enhance life, sometimes you need to face death,” Bayona opined. “One of the things that I love about Vierci’s book is that he’s able to get you into the minds of the characters. He makes you go through this experience; he puts you in front of death to highlight life. That’s something that you can find in common with The Impossible.” 

“It’s a very different story, though, and it’s a very different context. The Impossible happened in 72 hours. This happened in 72 days, and the geography is totally different,” he continued. “One of the things that I think is very special about Society of the Snow is that it happens in a place where life is not possible. You need to reinvent life. You need to reinvent your beliefs. You need to reinvent your link, your bond, with other people.”

What Makes Society of the Snow Stand Out?

Elsewhere in the same Deadline interview, Bayona tells the outlet how his movie differs from Frank Marshall’s Alive. In essence, that movie only tells the story from certain perspectives. What the director is shooting for here is something that speaks to all the people who experienced this disaster instead of just the certain survivors. 

Bayona said, “It’s obviously the same story, but the telling [in our film] is unique, since, for the first time, it tells the story of all the society [of the snow]. Not only the survivors, but also those who died in the Andes. It shows an untold perspective, so the meaning and the sense of the story feels very different to me.”

Will you be watching this one on Netflix? Let us know down in the comments!