Society has seemingly cooled down from 2023’s Barbenheimer summer, but many cinephiles were surprised when the Oscars aired, sparking concerns about the allegedly snubbed “Barbie”, forgetting the arguably more tragic loss, “La sociedad de la nieve”. 

“La sociedad de la nieve” is a Spanish film directed by J. A. Bayona is known in English as “Society of the Snow”. Based on a true story, the film follows the Uruguayan rugby team whose chartered flight crashed into the Andes Mountains during the winter months and stayed there for 72 days before being rescued. Of the 45 members originally onboard only 16 survived and, under the harsh conditions, maintained their unity as a team and found their faith in each other. 

It was not surprising the film was chosen to represent Spain in the Best International Feature Film category. This tragedy has been adapted into various books, films, and documentaries but the survivors agree this is the most accurate account. In fact, some of the survivors’ children portrayed their own parents in the film, and filming took place at the crash site. However, this wasn’t the film’s only nomination. The film was additionally nominated for its superb makeup and hairstyling. The makeup crew’s ability to depict the development of sunburn and windburn from the harsh conditions with no access to protection which included the snow reflecting light onto their faces was an incredible feat. 

The film lost out to “The Zone of Interest”, the United Kingdom’s nomination for Best International Feature Film, and “Poor Things” in the category of styling and makeup. “The Zone of Interest” explored the lives of a German family striving to live an idyllic life while working at and residing next to a concentration camp during the Second World War. I greatly enjoyed it and it was executed eloquently; however, while the movie explored the intricacies of this concept, the movie ultimately did not do anything novel for me in the way it was executed unlike “Society of the Snow”. What “Society of the Snow” did differently was, rather than depict the team’s actions as savage and violent as other iterations have been criticized, portrayed what they really did and how they treated it as respectful, sacred, and almost religious in nature.

The main feat in hairstyling in “Poor Things” boils down to the growth of Bella’s hair and eyebrows as the film progresses. While I think the wigs and prosthetics were very fitting for the role and provided a stark contrast against the vivid scenery, it did not compare to the work done by Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí, and Montse Ribé during “Society of the Snow”. In addition to details such as the characters’ faces burning from the sun, they also included details such as the steady progression of “raccoon eyes” on an initial survivor, a sign of traumatic brain injury and the intricate details depicting icy and irritated frostbitten skin on their faces and fingers.

Despite their efforts, Bayona and his team were only given two nominations with no wins and I, along with the cast, believe they were robbed of a highly deserved win.