The true story behind Netflix’s cannibal movie ‘Society of the Snow,’ and Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” director J.A. Bayona’s upcoming Netflix film “Society of the Snow” follows the survivors of a catastrophic plane accident in an isolated mountain range in the 1970s. The passengers must rely on cannibalism to survive for months while the police search for them.
The Spanish thriller is based on Pablo Vierci’s book “Society of the Snow,” in which the author interviews the accident survivors.
Despite the fact that the narrative had previously been adapted for the big screen, with Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton appearing in the 1993 Hollywood film “Alive,” Bayona decided to use Argentine and Uruguayan actors for the Spanish-language film.
“Society of the Snow” chronicles the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashes in the Andes highlands on its way from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile.
Here’s all you need to know about the real story.
What became to Flight 571 in ‘Society of the Snow?’
According to The New York Times, Flight 571 took off from Montevideo on October 13, 1972, with 45 passengers and staff on board. The jet was chartered to transport the Old Christians Club rugby team to Chile ahead of a match against the Old Boys Club, a Chilean squad.
According to Wired, the pilots relied on radio navigation, commonly known as dead reckoning, to keep them on course while flying over the Andes highlands.
According to a program shown on 7News in 2021, the plane’s co-pilot, Lieutenant-Colonel Dante Héctor Lagurara, mistook the jet for flying over Chile and began his descent to Santiago, not understanding they were still in the Andes.
Survivor Roberto Canessa described seeing the mountain range through the clouds as the jet descended in an ABC News program last year.
Canessa also told National Geographic that the pilots abruptly hauled the plane up vertically, causing it to stall yet still collide with the mountain range.
The plane’s wings and tail portion were destroyed in the first crash, but the rest of the jet rolled down the side of a mountain until it came to a halt.
Cannibalism was practiced by the survivors of Flight 571?
Because the plane had few supplies, “Society of the Snow” has some gory images of survivors finally devouring the corpses of passengers who perished in the original accident.
Nando Parrado, played by Agustn Pardella in the film, spoke to the Guardian in December about his ordeal and how the group chose to consume the flesh of the deceased passengers.
“I had no reservations. I had definitely reached the end of my thinking. Without a question,. “This is our only option,” he explained. “The worst fear of a human being is not knowing when they will eat again.” “The most primitive fear.”
According to Parrado, the majority of the group agreed with the terrible choice, but others resisted. They changed their minds after the survivors heard on the radio that the hunt for the jet had been called off after 10 days, according to ABC News.
“Everyone in that situation… you would have had the same thought,” Parrado remarked. And it’s a lot simpler than you think.”
Parrado reportedly said that some of the survivors advised each other that if they died, they should eat their bodies.
“We shook hands and said, ‘If I die, please use my body,'” So you can at least get out of here. “And please tell my family how much I appreciate them,” he continued.
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