Run time: 143 mins

J. A. Bayona’s momentous true story of humanity, sacrifice and survival.

After crashing on a glacier in the Andes, survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 wait expectantly for rescue. Many are around 20 years old, members of a Uruguayan rugby team travelling with family and friends to Chile. Their food runs out quickly in this icy, desolate place, and as the days and weeks pass, many succumb to injury and extreme hunger. Out of desperation, the remaining few must resort to extreme measures in order to stay alive.

Taking place over a mind-bending 72 days, the characters and the dynamics between the members of their dwindling group take centre stage. The beats here are familiar; initial bursts of hope give way to despair, while any and all temporary solutions slowly evaporate. But Bayona and his team of screenwriters do an excellent job of slowly ratcheting up the desperation, to the point where the most unforgivable and unthinkable of sins becomes routine. Played out through a series of harrowing events, the film pulls the you into the emotional complexity of a situation far beyond what anybody can and, quite possibly, should imagine.

Bracingly involving, riveting and authentically immersive, it’s a stunning, sobering experience.