Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow is an adaptation of the true story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, a harrowing tale of tragedy, survival, and the unbreakable human spirit. The film begins with a team of accomplished rugbiers from Old Christians Rugby Club in Uruguay boarding a chartered plane, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. The team, led by coach Rafael and team captain Guillermo Mondino Zubiria, embarked on a trip to Santiago, Chile, for a high-profile match against a prominent Chilean side. The film shifts its focus to the crew as the passengers prepare for the long flight ahead. Piloting the plane is Captain Julio César Ferradás Fernández, a talented but temperamental aviator with a wealth of experience under his belt. He's accompanied by co-pilot Eduardo Osvaldo González and flight engineer Alfredo 'Alfy' del Puerto. The crew's bravado and self-assurance would be sorely tested as fate had other plans. On that fateful day of October 13, 1972, the plane takes off, soaring over the breathtaking Andes, touching down briefly in Mendoza, Argentina, for a scheduled refueling stop. The passengers engage in lighthearted banter and playfully tease the crew as the plane soars once more into the sky. The scenery unfolds like a breathtaking canvas below, with the rugged peaks and stark glaciers beckoning in the distance. However, unbeknownst to them, this would be the moment when their flight intersects with destiny. Just before lunchtime, disaster strikes. While navigating a routine flight path over the snow-capped peaks, Captain Ferradás loses control of the plane due to freezing fog severely limiting visibility. The plane veers wildly, racing above the glacier's unstable surface before crashing into it in a deafening roar of twisted metal and snapping trees. Panic envelops the plane as a jet engine crumples, and the very fabric of the aircraft's structure begins to disintegrate. Miraculously, the survivors manage to pull themselves out of the plane's mangled wreckage. Soon, chaos gives way to a deep sense of helplessness. Wounded and separated from loved ones, the survivors initially have no clear direction or purpose. Feverish injuries and relentless sleet storms conspire against them as they are forced to accept that rescue efforts will have to wait until weather improves. Determined to preserve the lives of the injured, the survivors improvise, using tarpaulins and any available materials to create a makeshift shelter. During this tumultuous period, a hierarchy of duties forms among the team. Captain Ferradás, although fatally injured, remains committed to directing rescue efforts in the harsh, icy environment. Initially thought dead, he plays an integral role till the end. As day breaks, leaders emerge in Carlos Páez and Roberto Canessa. They believe the pilot was killed, and only the passenger list and plane ownership details remain relevant. Little do they know, Captain Ferradás was alive, albeit dying. The dynamic leaders establish practical communication guidelines to initiate assistance. They urge survivors to remain hopeful for rescue, carefully documenting the devastating events in an inventory report. Meanwhile, passengers begin a resourceful adaptation to their perilous situation. They prioritize building a trench for warmth and organizing what they believe to be possible rescue signals. However, their greatest obstacle becomes something far more daunting than any damage the plane suffered. On October 18, one of the passengers, Alberto "Beto" Vásquez, died of severe wounds to the stomach. No sooner than the team finishes accepting his tragic fate that Daniel Fernández Amaya succumbed to frostbite in the bitterly cold climate. During the days, weeks, and then months to come, the Andes' relentless climate steadily diminishes the survivors' hope. Both captain Guillermo Mondino and survivor Roberto Cosnard continue to underestimate their situation, certain rescue is nigh. Instead of moving forward, they stall until they concede to harsh reality – when aircraft crash, the authorities quickly swing into action. While understanding rescue may be delayed due to weather etc., help at the minimum tends to arrive within hours or, depending upon weather an absolute maximum of 12-48 hours not weeks. In a jarring act that compels them to confront their reality, they open the bodies of their teammates to access two barely edible knees. Initially reviled but eventually cautiously devoured, as this course is taken a collective identity among surviving comrades is created. From their leaderless decision and sharing hunger – they become more than an assorted rugby team: a functional unit founded on the hard realities within them. Twelve-and-a-half months from the crash day comes June 1973's hope-giving alert of helicopter rescue. The survivors barely retain their wits; having resisted absolute despair by developing new rituals – songs and games – are introduced as part of one another bonds. Even though just the last few figures on that earlier list were left by this point still alive, they endure hunger at their rescue being an anticipated event. The iconic but true story that unfolds the survival skills against these desperate odds becomes no more than the heart, which stood strong. Today, nearly 48 years after that near-fatal disaster, and despite seeing the real-life impact and unexplored harsh story about Uruguayan rugby players; the same deep bond forms around today the heart in unyielding remembrance of that one of most unbelievable history we know today about Uruguayan rugby players.