The tragedy – or the miracle – in the Andes is once again told in the Netflix film “The Snow Society”, which premiered in cinemas in several countries in December and can be seen on the streaming platform from January 4 .”We all have our mountain range”, Canessa told AFP.”And there are a lot of people who are climbing the mountain now. It must be said that they don't get discouraged, they keep moving forward”, he added.Directed by Spanish JA Bayona (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, “The Impossible”), “The Snow Society” tells the odyssey experienced by the young members of a Uruguayan amateur rugby team when the plane in which they were traveling to Chile crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. title and story were inspired by the book of the same name by Uruguayan Pablo Vierci, which collects testimonies from members of the “snow society”. For Canessa, the name represents a pact that emerges when life imposes challenges, “when civilized society leave it aside.” “When you have a rugby team, you travel by plane to Chile to play and, suddenly, you find yourself in a plane crash (…) And obviously the human being immediately thinks that they will come to the rescue it. But the days start to pass”, he says. “You have to make your own water, eat the dead because otherwise, we will die. The dead are there, next to you. We begin to see someone else's death not with sadness for them, but with sadness for ourselves because it's as if we were on a waiting list”, he continues.
“Something was missing”
On October 13, 1972, a plane with 45 people on board (players from the Old Christians team, some family members and the crew) crashed in the Andes mountains, in Argentine territory. The dramatic impact broke the plane and killed several passengers on the plane. Others succumbed over the 72 days they spent in the Valley of Tears, more than 3,000 meters above sea level. “What happened to us in the Andes is absurd,” says Canessa, one of the 16 survivors who lived to tell the story. the now cardiologist traveled the mountain range for ten days with his friend Fernando Parrado until he got help. The accident and the feat were told in books, documentaries and films such as “We Are Alive” (1993), spoken in English and starring Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton. But Bayona, who wanted to tell the story in his native language, felt that “something was missing.”[Era] give those who did not return the possibility of expressing themselves. And that's where we find the twist that gave meaning to this film.” The passenger Numa Turcatti, played by Enzo Vogrincic, is the guiding thread of “The Snow Society.” For the 30-year-old Uruguayan, the role was both an opportunity and a challenge.
“A way of living”
Living and dead in the tragedy of the Andes: a new Netflix film tells ” data-title=”Alive and dead in the tragedy of the Andes: a new Netflix film tells – In the race for the Oscars, “The Snow Society” gives a voice to the dead of the tragedy in the Andes – SAPO Mag”> To portray the impact of the mountain range, the actors gained weight and lost weight, and spent hours submerged in the snow.”It may seem like there is no other way to tell this story if we don't go through the suffering a little” , explains Vogrincic.The actor, who suffered from constant hunger and cold during filming and even recorded some scenes with a fever, described recording the avalanches as “torture”.But we were “thankful” for everything because it facilitated the interpretation and “the connection with reality, which is very moving.” For Canessa, “all these characteristics make this a practically scientific film with the experience of poor actors subjected to the same hardships that we live through.” “With the advantage that at the end of the day they would though”, he added. “It was a job, for us it was a way of living”, he concluded.”It's a super light version of what happened in the mountain range. We suffer much more. If I had a film about how we went through this, people would stand up and leave the cinema”, he said, with a laugh. The film, presented at the end of the Venice Film Festival, was on the short list for the Oscar for Best Film International representing Spain. It is also a semi-finalist in the categories of visual effects, characterization and soundtrack. Canessa, who after her expedition in the mountain range learned to take life step by step, recommends watching the film with perspective. “Sit in the cinema and let yourself be led to think about what you would do if your plane crashed”, he says.