The Fascinating Role of Cigarettes in Society of the Snow

The Significance of Cigarettes in Survival

Cigarettes play a significant role for the survivors in Alejandro Bayona's Society of the Snow and there is a good reason behind their abundant presence in the Andes. Netflix's latest survival movie has generated a positive response during the first days on the platform receiving an 89% score from the critics and an 84% score from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has been praised for its realism, roughness, and faithfulness to historical facts.

Javier Methol in Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow follows the true story of how a Uruguayan rugby team managed to survive 72 days in the mountains after a terrible plane crash in the middle of the Andes. For more than two months, the survivors had to find ways to avoid death in a place that was not meant to be inhabited by humans, as the cold was terrible and there wasn't any food. In this context, cigarettes became crucial as they presented a way to stop the feeling of hunger. While it might seem odd that in more than two months they didn't run out of cigarettes, there is a good explanation for that.

the survivors sitting in and around the broken fuselage in Society of the Snow

The Role of Javier Methol and the Tobacco Company

Many reasons contributed to the number of cigarettes that were available for Society of the Snow's survivors to smoke in the middle of the Andes. In the first place, it is important to keep in mind that in 1972 smoking was a lot more common than it is today and, despite being a sports team, before the accident, only two of them didn't smoke. However, that is not the biggest reason behind the number of cigarettes that appear throughout the movie, which is instead related to Javier Methol's family business. Javier was an executive at Abal Hermanos, a Uruguayan tobacco company founded by his mother's father.

Javier Methol, wonderfully portrayed by Esteban Bigliardi, was 36 years old at the moment of the accident and was the eldest of the team. He was traveling with his wife Liliana, who tragically died during the avalanche. Considering the political and economic context of Chile at the time, Javier was taking with him a full stash. That, combined with the fact that the team efficiently rationed them, is how they never ran out of cigarettes. Pancho Abal, who didn't make it through the first night, was Javier Methol's cousin and also worked at the tobacco company.

The Use of Lighters and the Absence of Signal Fires

Another question raised by the events in Society of the Snow and the amount of cigarettes featured in the movie. relates to smoke signs. While plenty of lighters were available due to almost everyone's smoker's condition, they could never make a fire that could help them get warm, cook the meat, or send a sign to draw attention from the rescue team. The place where the plane crashed was not strategically visible, so it would have been pointless to try to make a fire. Furthermore, they didn't have enough flammable objects to cause such a big fire, which is why the lighter was used for cigarettes but never a signal fire.