Under normal circumstances, the remake of a remake of a true story that’s already been the subject of dozens of documentaries, dissections, and books wouldn’t sound like a shoo-in for Academy Awards glory, but Netflix has already seen Society of the Snow established as an early contender.
Hailing from The Orphanage and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona, the gripping survival thriller tells the infamous story of Uruguay’s Air Force Flight 571, which was already brought to multiplexes both in 1976’s Survive! and 1993’s Alive. Third time – and an exponentially longer title – could prove to be the charm, though.
Spain has officially selected Society of the Snow as its candidate for the Best International Feature Film category at next year’s Oscars, but there are still several notable hoops left to jump through. As well as actually making the final shortlist of nominees, there’s also the small matter of winning the trophy if it does.
On the plus side, it does boast a perfect 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, but with so many movies all vying for a place on a shortlist that’s ridiculously small given the sheer size of the field, it’s a long way away from guaranteed victory. It still ranks as Netflix’s first-ever foreign-language feature to make the cut, so history is being made either way.
The company has hardly been opaque in its desire to snag the biggest prizes the industry has to offer, and the stall has been set out early this year thanks to Society of the Snow.
Published: Sep 20, 2023 10:56 am