WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Society of the Snow.

Summary

• Society of the Snow offers a gripping and accurate retelling of the 1972 Andes plane crash, hailed by families as the most honorable depiction.
• The film explores new avenues of philosophy and morality, showcasing the true story of survival and desperation in a unique way.
• The movie makes some changes to the true story for dramatic effect, including the consolidation of characters and the omission of certain details.

The new disaster movie Society of the Snow offers a gripping and almost entirely accurate retelling of the 1972 Andes plane crash and the tragic events that followed. The film features a cast made of entirely South American actors, particularly of Argentine and Uruguayan descent, and is being heralded by families of the real-life engers, both living and deceased, as the most honorable and accurate cinematic depiction of the events. Those who did survive and were eventually rescued after 72 days in blistering cold and dangerous conditions were forced to resort to cannibalism, feeding on the bodies of the deceased.

Society of the Snow is Spain's official submission for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards and is also nominated for a Golden Globe in a similar category. The story has previously been dramatized in the 1993 movie Alive which was directed by Frank Marshall and starred Ethan Hawke as the real-life Nando Parrado. While both movies depict the astonishing true story of endurance, survival, and the desperation to stay alive by any means necessary, Society of the Snow explores new avenues of philosophy and morality, and portrays the incredible true story like never before.

10 The Flight Stopped In Mendoza Due To Weather Conditions

Society of the Snow does not depict one aspect of the true flight path before the plane crash in the Andes. Director J.A. Bayona told USA Today, "On the flight to Santiago, Chile, they stopped in Mendoza for weather conditions and spent one night in the city. But we never showed that pause in the journey." This part was likely taken out of the movie because it would have added additional runtime to the already lengthy film. However, it could have allowed the audience to get to know some of the characters better before the disaster.

9 There Were Two Rescue Operations By Helicopter, Not One

Additionally, J.A. Bayona added another major change from the end of the film, telling USA Today, "There were two rescue operations to take the survivors out on helicopter," he says. "The first trip only took half of them, and a group of the rescue people stayed with the survivors and spent a night with them. Then another helicopter took them out the day after. But we only show you one helicopter." This was likely changed in order to capture the celebratory nature of the rescue as well as emphasize the solidarity between the survivors.

8 The Uruguayan Flight Pilot Died Instantly

The pilot of the plane is given a brief scene immediately following the crash, in which he tells the survivors their proximity to Chile as well as saying a prayer for them. This was added to Society of the Snow for dramatic effect, as the actual pilot died on impact as soon as the plane crashed. The pilot depicted in the film is also not given a name despite both he and the co-pilot being well-documented.

7 The Co-Pilot Briefly Survived & Asked engers To Shoot Him

The co-pilot, on the other hand, did survive the crash, but only for about one day. The pilot character in Society of the Snow was likely a combination of both the real-life pilot and co-pilot in order to make it easier to understand for the audience. The real-life co-pilot, who has been referred to as inexperienced during the time of the flight, was trapped in his chair and asked the engers to get his gun and kill him. The engers refused, and this scene was left out of the movie.

6 Nando Used A Metal Pole To Escape The Buried Fuselage, Not Numa

Numa is seen performing an act of bravery that would eventually save every living survivor from suffocating in Society of the Snow. A rage-fueled Numa kicks out a window in the fuselage and ends up cutting his leg. He later grabs a metal pole and pushes it up to the surface of the snow so that everyone can climb out. In reality, this act of heroism was done by Nando, not Numa, but was likely changed to show a more heroic side to Numa's character.

5 Roberto & Nando Only Had Food For 3 Days During Hike To Chile

When Roberto and Nando set out to Chile in Society of the Snow, Antonio "Tintin" Vizintín runs back to the group at the fuselage so that they will have enough food for their journey. Tintin tells the other survivors that Nando and Roberto have enough food for the ten-day hike. This was not true at all for the real-life Nando and Roberto, who only had three days' worth of food for their incredibly challenging trip.

4 Roberto & Nando Argued Over Their Route To Chile

The scenes in Society of the Snow in which Nando and Roberto traverse the Andres mountains are shot with incredible cinematography, offering some of the best views in the entire movie. It was Nando's idea to hike to the summit of the mountain ridge, believing that a lush Chilean valley would be right on the other side. Roberto had pointed out a road that he suggested they follow but they eventually went with Nando's route. Later on, Roberto realized that the road would have been a much easier route and would have led to a quicker discovery.

3 Roberto & Nando Were Tossed A Loaf Of Bread Before Getting Rescued

In Society of the Snow, Roberto and Nando feast on bread together inside an apparent cabin after they have been discovered by a Chilean arriero. In reality, they were forced to wait an entire day for the arriero to return from seeking help from the closest town, which was ten hours away by horseback. The arriero tossed them a loaf of bread and eventually got them help a day later, but the scene in which Nando and Roberto sit at the table eating bread likely didn't happen.

2 The Survivors Initially Told The Press They Lived On Packaged Food

Much of the aftermath of the 1972 Andes plane crash is left unaddressed in Society of the Snow, which is fitting since it really is intently focused on the actual survival story and not much else before or afterward. However, one of the biggest omissions from the true story in the film is the survivors' initial hesitation to reveal how they have survived for so long. Eventually, after a few days in the hospital, they held a press conference explaining the cannibalism but initially told reporters they survived on packaged food and cheese.

1 The Media Aftermath & Sensationalism Is Mostly Left Out

Following the aforementioned press conference, a media circus erupted around the 16 survivors in what eventually was called the Miracle of the Andes. There was an initial backlash to the survivors' candid explanations of the cannibalism that ensued as a means of survival, which even sparked suspicions that the survivors had made up parts of their story such as the avalanches, or were concealing that they killed other engers. These allegations were widely uned and the true story, as portrayed in Society of the Snow, has become a tale of inspiration and endurance.