Experienced in horror cinema and large-scale dramas, the Spaniard Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage, A Few Minutes After Midnight, The Impossible) was certainly one of the directors best placed to tell the horrible tragedy of survivors of the air crash in the Andes in 1972. With his innate sense of drama, his sensitive approach to the most difficult subjects and his concern for authenticity in reconstructing the worst disasters, Bayona keeps the viewer in suspense for almost two hours and a half.
Narrated by the sensitive Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic Roldán), The Circle of Snows is not the first film to depict this story which has marked the collective imagination. Four years after the events, the Mexican film Survive!, by René Cardona Sr., was released; Until now, the most memorable film remained Alive (The Survivors, 1992), by Frank Marshall. However, this co-production based on Pablo Vierci’s book between Uruguay, Spain and Chile could well change the situation.
After briefly introducing the main characters, including the courageous Fernando “Nando” Parrado (Agustín Pardella) and Juan Carlos Canessa (Álvaro Armand Ugón), in scenes full of frank camaraderie and sunshine, Juan Antonio Bayona spares no detail to show all the violence of the plane crash. After the shock, there is the helplessness and despair of the survivors, most of whom are in their twenties.
Thanks to the masterful photography of Pedro Luque Briozzo Scu (Millennium: What Doesn’t Kill Me), we discover the majesty of the snowy places stretching as far as the eye can see. In the process, we realize the extent of the tragedy: no one will come to their rescue. From then on, the soundtrack by Michael Giachino (Oscar winner for Up) discreetly conveys the state of mind of the survivors, who will not see the end of their sentences.
At the mercy of storms, avalanches, cold and hunger, the characters will experience the full range of emotions. Especially when they will have no other choice, after several reflections of religious, moral and philosophical content, than to feed on the corpses of other passengers. Like the survivors towards the missing, Bayona approaches these scenes with the greatest respect, avoiding any sensationalism.
Skilfully alternating between moving intimate moments, epic action scenes and contemplative sequences with a poetic breath, The Circle of Snow proves to be more than a meticulous duty of remembrance, but a vibrant memorial in honor of the passengers of the flight 571.
