Finding themselves stranded at an altitude of 3,500 meters, without water or food, with only the wreckage of an airplane as their refuge. This is the reality that Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona drew inspiration from for his new Oscar-nominated film, “The Circle of Snows.” The director of “The Impossible” and “The Orphanage” pays tribute to the victims and depicts in images what the human species is prepared to endure to survive.
Also read: “Love and Death”: the true story of Candy Montgomery who inspired the chilling series
The crashes
On October 12, 1972, Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya Flight 571 took off from Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, heading to Chile. The plane is carrying a team of Uruguayan rugby players who have gone to play in a tournament, as well as their relatives who have come to encourage them. 45 passengers in total, due to land in Santiago a few hours later. During the flight, the plane encountered a weather problem. Nothing serious, but the pilots decide to be careful and land in Mendoza, Argentina, for the night.
The next day, as planned, the journey resumes. The passengers board again. Fernando Parrado sits in the ninth row of the plane, window side. His best friend, Panchito, asks him if he can take his place to admire the scenery. In the cabin, the rugby players are having fun. They are unaware that the pilot, who planned to bypass the Andes, is actually heading towards the mountain range. The plane’s right wing hits a mountain wall first. The plane breaks in two. The tail of the aircraft detaches and takes the rear seat passengers with it. The front of the plane crashes into the snow and rolls down the slope like a sled. Fernando Parrado was far from imagining that this change of seat would save his life. Next to him, his friend Panchito died. Twelve people were killed instantly. Thirty-three survive. Their ordeal has only just begun.
Also read: What to watch this weekend? 4 films, a series and a documentary chosen by ELLE
The survival
Survivors organize themselves. They take the dead from the cabin, place them on the snow, protect the wreckage of the plane with a wall of suitcases and spend their first night there huddled together. During the days that followed, the survivors saw a plane and waved at it. They still cling to the hope of being rescued. It was while listening to the radio that they discovered that the search had been suspended. Help won’t come.
To survive, you will have to go find her. After having exhausted the few supplies gathered, eating the leather from the suitcases and the foam from the seats, the survivors are starving. “Not knowing when we are going to eat again is the scariest fear a human being can feel,” says Fernando Parrado in an article published by “ West France » on January 4, 2024. Long and difficult discussions lead them to the conclusion that they need protein. Using broken glass and an ax, second-year medical student Roberto Canessa cuts up the corpses, preserved in the snow and cold. “I will never be able to forget that first incision, nine days after the accident,” he writes in his book “I had to survive” (2016). “It was our last goodbye to innocence. »
As misfortune never comes alone: 18 days after the accident, in the middle of the night, a violent avalanche completely covered the device. Eight people lost their lives. The miracles, trapped under the snow, dig a conduit to the open air using a metal rod, breathing again. There are 18 of them to reach the surface. The men equip themselves and set out in search of their next refuge: the tail of the aircraft, which they find, luckily, two kilometers further on. Fernando Parrado found a camera there and immortalized their daily life. These impressive photos around the wreck will illustrate this hell which will last more than two months.
Also read: “Poor creatures”: the new UFO by Yórgos Lánthimos conquers the Golden Globes
The return to life
Two months after the accident, when there were only 16 of them left, Fernando Parrado was overcome by a start. He can’t eat his mother and sister. He manages to convince Roberto Canessa and Antonio Vizintín to accompany him for help. The weather conditions are favorable, and after poignant goodbyes, the three rugby players set off with the large sleeping bag they have made, alcohol and what serves as food. But which side should you climb the mountain from? As with the avalanche, fate does not help them. They head west, without knowing that 27 kilometers to the east there was a refuge. The friends run out of steam, draw on their resources and spend their nights snuggled up in their sleeping bags. They climb a pass more than four thousand meters above sea level. The air becomes thinner. Antonio Vizintín, exhausted, decided at that moment to turn around. In his book “Miracle in the Andes” (2006), Fernando Parrado remembers: “We may be walking towards death,” I said, “but I prefer to walk to meet it rather than wait for it to come to me.” seek. »
They cross the mountain range for ten more days, until finally, the snow gives way to vegetation. Exhausted, the two friends fall asleep near a river. When they wake up, they see a man on horseback on the other side of the bank. It’s not a mirage. Ten hours later, a horde of journalists arrived. The news comes on the radio, and up there, the survivors are informed. With courage, Fernando Parrado climbs into a helicopter to indicate the crash site. The reunion is overwhelming. Sixteen people out of forty-five return alive thanks to the exploit of these young rugby players and the story goes around the world.
Unfortunately, from this story, some only remember cannibalism and it will even be necessary for Pope Paul VI to send a telegram of blessings to the survivors. In his book, Fernando Parrado writes: “As we said in the mountains: ‘Breathe. Breathe again. Every time you breathe, you are alive.’ »
© THE EYE OF THE SOUTH/SIPA
2024-01-12 21:39:21
#Circle #Snow #true #story #Netflix #film #Elle
