Society Of The Snow has just been released on Netflix, and I gave it a watch, and my God, what a movie it was. I was blown away by it in all ways possible.
Focusing on Flight 571, which crashed in 1972 in the Andes mountain region, this movie follows the crash from the perspective of the Uruguayan rugby team that was among those that were stranded.
So with that, let’s do a Society Of The Snow Ending Explained whilst also delving into the true events and comparing it to the Netflix film.
Society Of The Snow Movie vs. True Story
Let’s first take a look at the movie versus the true events and how it actually unfolded. Also in that, let’s look at the expedition and rescue first. When it came to the rescue being depicted on screen, we saw Nando, Roberto, and Antonio tracked to the top of the mountain that was closest. After tracking up there, they saw that there was no greenery insight as they’d hoped.
They were under the impression that the Chilean countryside would be over the mountain due to where they felt they crashed. This was something that was present in real life, too.
The co-pilot of the plane, before dying, said how they’d flown over Carico, which would have been close to the countryside. However, they were a lot further into the Andes than what the pilot presumed, and they were around 50 miles away from the countryside.
Within the movie, after this realization, both Roberto and Nando set off, with Antonio going back down the mountain in order to preserve the food supply for them.
From there, there was a 10-day hike that followed when Nando and Roberto eventually stumbled across somebody where they threw a rock across the river with a note, which they returned. This contained information on the fact that they were survivors of the Uruguayan air crash and that there were other survivors further back.
From here, we saw the rescue mission take place, and a helicopter came in to retrieve all of the survivors. Most of this was actually true to the events. However, there were some slight differences.
In reality, once Nando got to the top of the summit, he vocalized how he wasn’t going to be going back to the plane because he didn’t see the point. And he realized that it was their only hope at attempting survival, pressing on and hoping.
Ending Explained
During the 10-day trek, it was said that Nando and Roberto pressed on because they felt like they were getting closer to signs of life, such as there being a campsite nearby in the herd of cows. Within the movie, it was one person who was seen to have found them across the river. When, according to true events, it was actually three men who were across the other side of the river.
On the other side of the river, as Nando and Roberto were trying to get their attention, the noise of the water drowned out their voices, and it meant that they went unheard. This was until one of the men saw them and shouted that he’d be back tomorrow.
The next day, they shared information by attaching paper to a stone and throwing it across, and then once the severity of the situation was understood, the individuals had to travel 10 hours to the closest police station. So, a further trek took place.
One thing that was different at the end of the movie and with the rescue was the fact that only some of the survivors were taken back when the helicopters arrived, and some had to stay for another night at the wreckage.
This was because of the weight limit due to the altitude. So 7 survivors had to stay behind with four volunteer rescuers for one final night on the mountain, where they were then rescued the next day.
The Permission To Use Their Bodies
Within the movie, we saw that there was a reluctance to turn to cannibalism from the survivors to start with. However, once the individuals realized that there was a slim chance that they were going to be rescued anytime soon, they came to an agreement that they would allow each other to feed off of them when the time came and when they died.
This was something that did actually happen in reality, too. After rationing all of their food, which they found in cases that consisted of crackers, chocolate, nuts, and alcohol, it ran out after only a week.
At first, they turned to the leather from the plain seats, shoes, and belts. But then, after realizing that that wasn’t sufficient enough and coming to the conclusion that the rescue efforts had ground to a halt and stopped, they did what they did in the movie and gave each other permission to use their bodies if they died.
Out of all of the survivors of the crash, everybody who survived made the decision to consume the flesh. This was also a decision that wasn’t taken lightly, with many of the people there, and they only did it as a complete last resort as some died after choosing with and sticking with not consuming.
Many of the people were Roman Catholic, and some feared the prospect of damnation for doing so. But afterward, a priest assured them that they wouldn’t face damnation for it.
The Avalanche
The Avalanche that we saw taking place in the movie was something that happened in reality, and the Avalanche was said to have hit the wreckage during the night whilst they were all sleeping so it was slightly different from when it occurred in the movie, but sadly 8 people died because of it. It filled the plane up, so there was only around 1 meter of room at the top.
Following this, Nando put a pole through one of the windows in order to get air into it so that they wouldn’t run out of air, which was an actual act that we saw taking place during the movie.
The survivors spent three days inside the plane due to the Blizzard, which meant that they were stuck inside with the survivors and the people that they sadly lost during the Avalanche. Something which, again, we saw taking place during the movie and must have been horrific.
I feel this movie did a good job at depicting the harsh conditions, the crash, and the mindset of the survivors and the ones that didn’t survive whilst also staying true to the events that occurred, something which I think made this movie feel all the more real when watching and it added to the upsetting powerful nature of it. So there you have it, Society Of The Snow Ending Explained.
Review
Honestly, I was taken aback by this movie. I wasn’t really familiar with the air crash that took place before putting it on. But finding out that this was based on true events made the movie hit even harder.
After doing some research, I saw that the creator did extensive research on what happened and spoke to survivors of the crash and family members of those who didn’t survive so that they could get an accurate depiction as possible. And I think you can really tell that through the nuanced details that were present with the characters’ behaviors.
This didn’t just feel like an adventure in a survival movie; it felt like a movie where the characters were real, and even after escaping, there was no true happy ending, showing the long-term effects of experiencing something like this.
Having the story told to us through the perspective of Numa was something that I thought was the perfect choice. For a second, he questioned that he wouldn’t make it, but when he did finally succumb to the conditions, hearing his voice and knowing that he didn’t make it was something that almost allowed him to be a voice for the people who didn’t survive at least that’s what I got from it.
It would have been easier and maybe more traditional to have seen the movie from the perspective of one of the survivors, maybe Nando. But what happens with that is that you may forget the people who didn’t make it.
But by having Numa be the voice, the people who didn’t make it have a constant presence throughout the movie and are never forgotten because his voice carried the story. So, it was a well-thought-out and respectful approach.
The physical transformation of the characters was something that was utterly haunting. They looked like they’d been stranded for 72 days, and they were completely unrecognizable from the start, so it was very realistic in its approach. Even the changing mindset of the characters over the course of the movie was something that felt so natural.
Seeing how what was once a disturbing thought of having to consume somebody that you once knew sat beside and was comforting in their final moments to then being able to push that thought deep within and then eating with the sole intention of surviving was something which was harrowing to watch.
