‘Beyond Society’ Netflix Review: A Moving Companion to ‘Society of the Snow’

At the beginning of Society of the Snow, a voice-over explains that what some called «the Miracle of the Andes» was, for others, «the Tragedy of the Andes.» That distinction lies at the heart of Beyond Society, a documentary series that follows the lives of both the survivors of the 1972 plane crash and the families of those who never made it home. These are two parallel stories —closely intertwined yet emotionally distinct— connected by the same defining event: the 72 days during which members of a Uruguayan rugby team and their companions struggled to survive in the Andes after their plane crashed en route to Chile. J.A. Bayona revisited those events in his acclaimed 2023 feature Society of the Snow.

Co-directed by Bayona and Carlos Torres, Beyond Society explores what happened after the rescue, beginning with the moment when survivors Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa descended from the mountains into Chile and alerted authorities to the whereabouts of the others. From there, the series branches out to examine the many layers of the story. The first episode focuses primarily on the miraculous return of the 16 survivors —out of the 45 people originally aboard— and the joy surrounding their homecoming, before gradually shifting toward the inevitable questions about how they had managed to stay alive. Above all, how they had fed themselves. As the truth emerged, the series recounts the chaotic media coverage of the time and the experiences of the survivors themselves, who tell the story today as men in their seventies.

The second episode shifts its attention to those who died in the crash or in the days that followed, speaking mainly with siblings, nephews and nieces, since few of the victims had spouses or children. Archival interviews with some of their mothers provide additional perspective. Their experiences, the series argues, were profoundly different: the pain of knowing their loved ones had not survived, the complicated emotions surrounding the revelation of what had happened to their bodies, and, in some cases, the resentment of seeing the survivors become media celebrities while their own grief remained largely invisible.

The third and final episode looks at everything that followed over the next five decades: the publication of unauthorized books, sensationalist media coverage, the survivors’ efforts to reclaim their own narrative through the book Alive!, Frank Marshall’s 1993 film adaptation, and the many ways the tragedy continued to shape their lives. It also explores their reactions when Bayona approached them about adapting Pablo Vierci’s book Society of the Snow, and what happened after the film’s release. Here, too, the series addresses the lingering tensions between survivors and victims’ families, suggesting that Bayona’s film ultimately helped bring those two groups closer together after years of emotional distance.

Bayona and Torres also incorporate footage from a journey they made back to the crash site with much of the cast from Society of the Snow. During a five-day winter expedition in the Andes, the actors —who had filmed most of the feature on soundstages and had never visited the actual location— reflect on both the characters they portrayed and the shared experience of making what became, in many ways, a deeply personal and almost spiritual pilgrimage alongside Bayona and his crew.

Beyond Society works as both a compelling documentary in its own right and a valuable companion piece to Society of the Snow. It offers a richer understanding of the many perspectives, emotions and conflicts that emerged from one of history’s most extraordinary survival stories, while also documenting the long process of reconciliation between those who lived through it. By the end, it becomes clear why what some remember as a miracle others still experience as a tragedy, and why Bayona chose the narrator he did for Society of the Snow. His film ultimately becomes not only a celebration of survival, but also a tribute to those who sacrificed everything so that others could return home and tell the story.