Did anyone expect J.A. Bayona to follow up “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom” with an altogether different kind of survival thriller? Maybe not, but “Society Of The Snow” has garnered a lot of positive word of mouth as it made the festival rounds this Fall. After Bayona’s latest closed the Venice Film Festival in early September, it won Audience Awards at the San Sebastián Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival. And as it approaches its release on Netflix, Spain entered the film as their selection for Best International Feature Film for this year’s Oscars.
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That should give “Society Of The Snow” some oomph in the press as 2023 draws to a close. And it also hints that Bayone does justice to the historical events his film depicts: the infamous crash of Uruguyana Air Force Flight 571 in 1972, whose survivors had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive.
Here’s an official synopsis for “Society Of The Snow,” courtesy of Netflix:
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.
“Society Of The Snow” stars Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, and Diego Vegezzi.  Fernando Contigiani García, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, and Tomás Wolf also star. Agustín Della Corte, Felipe Otaño, Andy Pruss, Blas Polidori, Felipe Ramusio, and Simón Hempe round out the main cast.
Along with directing, Bayona also co-writes his new film with Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques, and Nicolás Casariego. The four adapt Pablo Vierci‘s book of the same name for the big screen. Bayona also co-produces “Society Of The Snow” with Belén Atienza and Sandra Hermida. Vierci serves as an associate producer.  Michael Giacchino provides music for the film.
As noted earlier, “Society Of The Snow” gets a limited theatrical release before it debuts on Netflix on January 4, 2024. Watch a new trailer for J.A. Bayona’s movie below.