1. Society of the Snow 

Directed and co-written by J.A. Bayona
Released Sept. 9, 2023 (Venice Int’l Film Festival)
Streaming on Netflix Jan. 4, 2024

Watch Time: 144 min.

In 1972, a Uruguayan plane, chartered to transport a rugby team to Santiago, Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes. Of the 45 passengers on board, only 16 manage to survive. The film, an adaptation of the book by the same name, documents the accounts of all 16 survivors.

What I Liked About It 

The story was familiar to me. It was sensationalized because those that survived for 72 days until they were rescued (until they rescued themselves) had resorted to cannibalism to stay alive, and the direction of the film emphasized the horror of it all.

I also very much admired the photography, the sound effects, and the music. All artfully done. Also that the dialog was entirely in Uruguayan Spanish.

What I Didn’t Like 

It left me emotionally exhausted and depressed. It took me 24 hours to get back into a good frame of mind.

Critical Reception 

Society of the Snow received mostly favorable reviews. It is an Oscar nominee for Best International Feature Film of 2023.

* “The material is fundamentally gripping, and parts of it are tough to resist…. But Society of the Snow is a perverse movie to watch the way most people will see it – on Netflix, in the comfort of their homes, with a refrigerator nearby.” (Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times)

* “As a film that attempts to honor its victims while simultaneously offering graphic details, it both improves upon previous iterations of the material and exposes the limits of the story itself.” (Shirley Li, The Atlantic)

* “A fervent film, heartfelt and shot with passion and flair.” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)

You can watch the trailer here.

2. A World Within a World: The Bay Houses of Long Island 

Produced and directed by Barbara J Weber and Greg Blank 
Originally aired on PBS Oct. 15, 2020
Currently streaming on Amazon 

Watch Time: 1 hr.

A recommendation from KG: A documentary about the history and traditions of the bay houses on the South Shore of Long Island, not far from where I grew up.

Bay houses are small shacks that have stood on Long Island’s South Shore marshlands since the 1700s. Of 40 of these homes, 14 miraculously withstood Hurricane Sandy – unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy – in 2012. A World Within a World explores the lives and experiences of bay house owners in the Town of Hempstead from both a historical and a contemporary perspective, capturing their perseverance and endurance.

You can watch the trailer here.