A new disaster film, inspired by a terrible true story, is released on the Netflix streaming platform this Thursday, January 4. And you shouldn’t miss it.
The year 2024 is off to a strong start on Netflix. The streaming platform is releasing a new feature film online this week which should keep fans of disaster films in suspense. The icing on the cake is that this production by an acclaimed Spanish filmmaker is inspired by a moving true story. A promising cocktail which should attract subscribers to the platform in the days to come.
The circle of snow can be discovered on Netflix this Thursday, January 4, 2024. Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (The orphanage, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom…), this Spanish-Uruguayan feature film returns to the tragedy of the Andes mountain range that occurred more than 50 years ago. On October 13, 1972, Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya Flight 571 crashed in the middle of the South American mountain range.
The plane was carrying 45 passengers, including 17 who died during the crash or a few hours later. Twelve others died in the months that followed and 16 miraculously survived. To get by in extremely difficult conditions (they were isolated at an altitude of 3,600 m in terrible climatic conditions and without resources), they will be forced to eat the bodies of other passengers who had perished. The survivors were found two months later, on December 22 and 23.
The circle of snow is the fifth adaptation of this extraordinary story. Previously, the drama had been transcribed on the big screen in other films, the best known of which remains The survivors (1993) with Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton. Conversely, the casting of Snow Circle is composed solely of actors little known in France.
This new feature film, which is released exclusively on Netflix, promises to be as impressive as it is moving. The director of the film, Juan Antonio García Bayona, distinguished himself in these two registers. He had already directed a high-end disaster film with The Impossible (2013), which looked back on the tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004 in Thailand, while A few minutes after midnight (2016) confirmed his talents as a storyteller in a moving story about grief.
Before being put online on Netflix, this thriller lasting 2 hours 24 minutes had already been screened in France during the 2023 Lumière Festival, just after it closed the Venice Film Festival. The circle of snow also begins the awards race with a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign language film. It is during the night from Sunday to Monday that we will find out if the feature film will win the coveted statuette. If so, that could also make it a strong contender for the Oscars.