The Untold Story of Society of the Snow: What the Movie Left Out

The Authenticity of Society of the Snow

The Netflix hit movie Society of the Snow leaves out one brutal aspect of the rescue of the 1972 Andes plane crash survivors. Although the survival thriller omits the harsh reality of the real mountain rescue, Society of the Snow does not fail to include a great deal of gore, several violent or disturbing scenes, and an overall frightening display of survival to depict the real-life tragedy of the Andes flight disaster.

Esteban Kukuriczka as Adolfo Starch looking out of helicopter window in Society of the Snow

To a large extent, Society of the Snow's authenticity is due to director J.A. Bayona's close work with Pablo Vierci, the author of the testimonial narrative novel of the same name. Vierci grew up with many of the survivors of the Andes plane crash and played a crucial role in putting Bayona in contact with them and relatives of the deceased, many of whom were involved in the making of the movie. Consequently, the quality of Society of the Snow is quite genuine - with the film even going so far as to film at the crash site - but it does skip over one major facet of the tragic incident.

Rafael Federman as Eduardo Strauch looking off to the side in Society of the Snow

The Harsh Reality of the Rescue

Throughout the course of the actual rescue, the deployed team contended with the harsh elements of the Andes mountains and struggled to recover everyone. According to Time, the helicopters dispatched to the crash site could only airlift 6 of the remaining 14 survivors out to safety due to bad weather. The Society of the Snow depicts just how ruthless the climate of the Andes mountains can be, so it comes as no surprise to learn that in real life, the forces of nature gave rise to problems all the way to the end.

Because the rescue effort could only recover a handful of survivors, 8 were left at the sight of the crash until the next morning. Society of the Snow likely left this facet of the rescue out in order to avoid depicting another day of emotionally-charged narrative, which would muddle its straightforward story line and overwhelm the all but too intense nature of its content. Society of the Snow contains very hard-to-watch scenes and emotionally dense themes, necessitating a satisfying ending that facilitates its story of inspiration and the endurance of the human spirit.

The Wait for Rescue

Leading up to the events of Society of the Snow's ending, Roberto Canessa (Matías Recalt) and Nando Parrado (Agustin Pardella) resort to hiking through the mountains in search of anyone able to help in the rescue of the remaining survivors. The hike takes Canessa and Parrado several days until they finally reach the outskirts of Chile and are able to alert the authorities, who dispatch a team in a rescue effort that recovers all 14 of the remaining survivors. The rescue is Society of the Snow's crowning moment, concluding the movie with the sentiment of the strength of the human spirit, but in reality, the rescue wasn't all that easy.

How Long The Other Group Of Andes Mountain Survivors Had To Wait To Be Rescued: Because the rescue effort could only recover a handful of survivors, 8 were left at the sight of the crash until the next morning.