This past year, the tragic plane crash that occurred in the Andes in 1972 has given cinephiles much to talk about. Juan Antonio Bayona's film, Society of the Snow, has brought this story to the big screen once again as René Cardona had before with Survive! and by Frank Marshall in Alive!
However, unlike the previous adaptations, the Spanish director has decided to move away from the typical Hollywood narrative conventions, to take a more intimate and human approach. Accordingly, the UIC Barcelona lecturer, Isadora García, delves into the perspective offered by this film, and why it has resonated with the public worldwide in the article published in The Conversation.
The expert in Audiovisual Communication explains that Bayona “puts the focus on the history of a community that emerged in tragic conditions, where a hopeful vision of humanity is revealed”. García insists that, unlike the great North American productions of the 1990s that recreated the story, Society of the Snow “gives us an intimate, sensitive and delicate point of view.”
According to the author of the article, one of the highlights is the choice of the narrator, Numa Turcatti, played by Enzo Vogrincic, who “becomes the guiding thread of the story”. Through this character's voiceover, which was not given much importance in the other productions, the film manages to connect the viewer with the experience of the protagonists, allowing for a deeper understanding of their emotions and experiences.
For Isadora García, the success of the film lies in its ability to offer an immersive cinematic experience, based on a humane look at the events narrated. From the selected camera shots or the soundtrack of Michael Giacchino to the choice of the narrator, they turn this work into an intimate experience that, as he says in the article quoting Bayona, “retells the story to change the story”.
The article “When the narrator changes everything: Numa Turcatti in Society of the Snow" currently has been read over 16,000 times in The Conversation and different republications in countries such as Argentina, Spain, Uruguay and the United States.
