Sitges Festival 2023: “The Snow Society” by JA Bayona

The impact and esteem that JA Bayona generates at the Sitges Festival is so great that, regardless of the genre his films address, his presence is always assured.. Bayona owes a lot to the festival and vice versa. Let us remember that it was the place where the Spanish director was able to establish contact for the first time with Guillermo del Toro for the making of The orphanage, a film that shortly after would become one of the most memorable screenings of the Catalan festival. Despite his latest forays into Hollywood, Bayona continues to escape whenever she can to attend the festival. For that reason it is understandable that although a film like The Snow Society Under any other conditions it would not have been included in the programming, an exception is made to once again feature one of the favorite sons of Sitges.

It is possible that right now there is no other Spanish director who makes films under the quality standards of Hollywood blockbusters better than Bayona. His ability to understand and interpret how what would become classic contemporary American cinema works, with the figure of Steven Spielberg as a reference, has allowed him to direct a film in the saga. Jurassic World and the first two and best episodes of the ambitious adaptation in television format of The Lord of the rings. Taking into account his seniority, a project like the adaptation of the tragic plane crash of the Uruguayan rugby team that he already portrayed suited him perfectly. They live. Although Frank Marshall’s film is a very remembered and loved film, a current readaptation of the event is neither gratuitous nor unnecessary. Firstly, because 30 years have passed since the film’s release and enough time has passed for audiovisual advances to have something new to offer on a technical level under the supervision of a director like Bayona, who we remember is already a specialist in portraying disasters and catastrophes where nature plays a devastating role. Secondly because The film has a cast of Uruguayan actors who not only provide realism but also a naturalness that the predecessor film with a cast of American actors lacked.. The Snow Society It meets two main objectives of a work of these characteristics: to live up to the representation of disasters (not only the recreation of the accident but also the climate problems) and to make the viewer empathize with the human component of the film. In this sense, the film is not only entertaining and fascinating but on many occasions also overwhelming. However, this melodramatic component, although the occasion demands it, sometimes gets out of hand as it is overly accentuated both narratively and with musical decorations that border on the unbearable.

The Snow Society It is everything you can expect from a film of these conditions directed by Bayona. The director is up to the demands of a very complicated film to tackle in which there is not much room for innovation or creativity.

The Snow Society (JA Bayona, 2023) ⭐️⭐️⭐️