[Movie Review] Moments that make you realize the value of an ordinary life—'Society of the Snow'

Recently, after the children have fallen asleep, my husband and I have been having movie nights together.

Last night, we watched 'Society of the Snow,' which is currently streaming on Netflix.
(The following contains spoilers)

A charter plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashes deep in the Andes Mountains. For two whole months, the survivors are trapped in the harsh environment of the snowy mountains. They are pushed to the absolute limit, both physically and mentally, by nothing but cold and hunger.

But that is not all. Snowstorms, avalanches. A massive force that humans cannot control is always right there. And, as if on a whim, it suddenly surges forward and takes lives in an instant.

Days spent barely surviving, clinging to life. The hope that a search party will find them is betrayed time and time again; their hearts grow weak and sick. And right before their eyes, one friend after another dies.

Even I, watching it, felt like I was going crazy. The air grew thin, and my breathing became shallow. From time to time, I consciously took deep breaths. I needed to calm myself down, too.

It was harrowing. The reason it makes the viewer's heart ache so much is also because it is based on a true story.

There are two scenes in this movie that left a strange impression on me.

One is when more than a month had passed since the plane crash. The seasons were slowly changing, and the snow was beginning to melt. On a sunny day, a bird—perhaps a kite—flew overhead. Surely there was nothing else to hear but the sound of the wind, or perhaps there wasn't even the sound of the wind. In a landscape of only snow, mountains, and sky, the bird's cry echoed.

One of the young men, leaning against the shelter made from the plane's wreckage, looked up at it in silence and whistled, mimicking the bird's call. Following that, someone else puffed out their cheeks and blew air into their cupped palms to make a different bird-like sound. Several others joined in.

They were all quite good at it. The time that had been stretched tight with tension relaxed for a brief moment. The teammates looked at each other's faces and laughed.

The other scene is a sequence leading up to the final climax. Nando, a young man who realized that they would not survive if they just waited for a search party, decided to walk over the snow-covered peaks towering before them to seek rescue. Sixty days had passed since the crash.

Believing that if he could just cross this mountain, he would surely reach Chile, he spent many days climbing the deep, snowy mountain one step at a time.

This was nothing like the snow mountain climbing that mountaineers prepare carefully for. After all, they had no gear whatsoever. Sunglasses made by piecing together scraps, a sleeping bag made by sewing together waterproof material, and a tiny amount of food. The conditions were the worst. They had been fighting hunger for two months, and their bodies were emaciated.

And so, when he reached the mountain ridge, what was it that Nando saw?

It did not look like an escape route to Chile. What lay there, where he had believed there would be green valleys and perhaps the sea in the distance, was a mountain range that seemed to continue forever.

Nando sat down there and stared intently at the sight. Roberto, who had climbed up a little later, was stunned by the view. You've got to be kidding me. Their hope had been shattered.

At that moment, Nando said this:

'It's so beautiful.'

It was certainly a breathtaking, magnificent view. But in this situation, with hope smashed to pieces and ready to be blown away like fine sand in the wind, how could he say such a thing?

As a result, Nando and Roberto trek through the mountain valleys for days, finally reaching civilization. This leads to them bringing back a rescue team to save their companions.

The reason these two scenes left an impression on me is related to a passage from a book I read recently.

Do you know the book 'Man's Search for Meaning'? I haven't read it myself yet, but it was introduced in a book I read recently.

In this 'Man's Search for Meaning,' there is an examination of what kind of people survived under the harsh conditions of Auschwitz.

It is said that it was not limited to 'people with strong faith, people with strong willpower, people who did not give up hope until the end, or people with deep ideological convictions.'

So, what kind of people survived?

For example, when digging graves for the dead during forced labor. As the sun sets and their malnourished bodies freeze, they see a bright red sunset sinking beyond the forest. At such times, there were those who would say, 'Hey, look, what a magnificent sunset.'

Or, when crossing a puddle. There were those who would peer into the puddle, saying that the tree branches and scenery reflected in the water looked like a Rembrandt painting.

Or, when sleeping in a cramped space at night, piled on top of one another. To avoid wasting even a bit of energy, they wouldn't even turn over. At such times, they might suddenly hear the faint sound of an accordion from afar. There were those who would press their ears against the wall and listen intently to the music, saying, 'Isn't that the song that used to be popular in Vienna?'

It is said that such people were the ones who survived.

I don't know if the two scenes I mentioned from the movie are depicted faithfully to the facts. Perhaps there is some creative license involved in the story.

But remembering that passage from 'Man's Search for Meaning,' I thought, 'Yes, that might very well be true.'

A night spent watching a movie, sitting on a soft, sinking sofa. My husband is next to me. My children are sleeping in their beds without a care in the world. We are alive, not freezing, and not starving.

It was a night where the value of such an ordinary, unremarkable life was driven home to me with overwhelming force.

Thank you for reading until the end.
It was a movie that kept me breathless, but it is certain that its grand themes will shake your heart.

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