This production symbol provided via Netflix shows a scene from the set of the cable network’s movie “The Snow Society. “
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LOS ANGELES — When Gustavo Zerbino watched “The Society of Snow Angels,” the survivor of the 1972 Plos Angelesne accident felt immersed “in boiling water,” reliving the 70 or so days he and his companions were stranded in the snow. -Mountains of the Andes covered.
Zerbino praised J. A. ‘s raw, unfiltered film, which premieres Thursday as “The Snow Society” on Netflix in the U. S. He is a member of the U. S. , but said he also feels the same anxieties and feelings he felt when he became a young athlete more than 50 years ago. .
“Fortunately, that feeling ended in 2 1/2 hours,” he told The Associated Press this past October. (All interviews for this story were conducted in Spanish.)
In the Chicago area, the film is showing lately at Landmark at Glen in Glenview.
Bayona’s film is based on the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci and follows the story of the Uruguayan Air Force air disaster. The Old Christians rugby team is heading to Chile with family and friends for an attack when their plane crashed, leaving them stranded in the mountains where they had to deal with snowstorms, avalanches and famines, forcing them to eat the flesh of those who had died.
Gustavo Zerbino (left to right), director J. A. Bayona, editor Pablo Vierci and actor Enzo Vogrincic are pictured in Los Angeles on a promotional excursion for “The Snow Society” last October.
AP
The tale of the tragedy has been told numerous times. It’s been referenced in shows like “Seinfeld,” dramatized in countless films like the 1993 narrative film “Alive” with Ethan Hawke, served as the subject of documentaries and plays and even inspired Showtime’s Emmy-nominated “Yellowjackets.”
“We felt like something was missing,” says Zerbino, reflecting on his past projects. “The Snow Society is the e-book that fills in the gap. “
Tackling the complex story of endurance and survival, Bayona wanted to do more than just direct a dramatic interpretation of real-life tragedy. He wanted to tell a story that honored the event’s survivors and victims and their Uruguayan culture.
“It’s more of a reflection than an action book and in the end it helped me a lot to understand the characters,” the Spanish director said of Vierci’s book. Vierci is an associate producer on the film.
Bayona, whose credits include 2018’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” sought to tap into the connection between the living and the dead, adding an ongoing on-screen tribute to those who have died.
“When he showed us the drafts of what he was running, it sent shivers down our spine; Our hearts stopped. I mean, we’ve already noticed that it’s very real, very powerful, and we’ve noticed that there’s genius at work,” Zerbino said.
The Golden Globe-nominated film is narrated by Numa Turcatti, who died shortly before the rescue and is played here by Enzo Vogrincic. That decision was made by the director and supported by Vierci.
“I’ve been drawn to the option and the need to tell things from the point of view of the dead,” Vierci said. “This is the story of forty-five Americans who provide us with a window through which we can practice how they endured primal adversity and built a society where compassion and mercy prevailed. »
Bayona’s film seeks to honor the story and strays away from glamorizing or sensationalizing the horrors the passengers and crew members endured. Beyond speaking to the survivors, victims’ loved ones and visiting the crash site, he wove in Candombe Uruguayan music at high points of tension and added Turcatti’s favorite song from a popular Uruguayan band into one of the film’s early blissful scenes.
“I’m very interested in the culture of Uruguay and the culture of the time,” he said.
His technique even included survivors of twists of fate, such as Carlitos Páez, who celebrated 19 years stranded and plays his own father in the film.
“I tried to get as close to the truth as possible,” said Bayona, who put his cast through a doctor-supervised weight-loss program and filmed the avalanche scenes in icy conditions.
It is now nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Oscars.
When Vogrincic first heard about the project, the Uruguayan actor knew it had to be historic.
“You’ve known that since you were little,” the actor said. “It fills you with pride because they are Uruguayan. . . However, as you dig deeper into the story, the story gets much bigger. It’s about humanity as a whole.
Zerbino watched the film with other crash survivors and victims’ family members. The end credits were met with a standing ovation, he said.
According to the former rugby player, it was the first time that many relatives of the victims had told the story.
“They hadn’t read or watched any books or videos about the occasion because they didn’t need to suffer. Some do, some don’t, well, through this film they reconciled with history,” said Zerbino, who believes he is committed to preserving the legacy of his defeated team members.
Bayona’s film defends the project of Zerbino and the other survivors: to tell the story of those who gave up their literal selves to keep their friends alive.
“I have a commitment, a commitment before I leave the mountain, witness and about the legacy of my deceased friends,” Zerbino said.