If you saw the underrated drama Alive, you know this story: a Uruguayan rugby team crashes in the Andes en route to Chile, is forced into cannibalism to survive. For this well-edited documentary, the survivors of the 1972 plane crash reunite on the mountain and tell their story.
Watching this was a lot like watching the feature film. There is something perfect about the story. The plane crashes in the mountains, but in such a way that most of the 45 passengers are not killed immediately. Yet they wind up in a place least conducive to either short-term rescue or long-term survival. Besides having to subsist on the remains of the dead, there are other perils.
Although modest photographic re-creations prevent this from being solely a parade of talking heads, the experience is not as visceral as watching Alive. As with that movie, the many characters blend together. In a way, that’s the point. Having to act as one was what enabled them to live to tell the tale. The bond the survivors have maintained—each participated in the movie—is nearly as remarkable, a testament to the uniqueness of their death-defying tale.
IMDB link
viewed at Ritz Bourse and reviewed 12/18/08
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