Fans of a Netflix thriller based on a ‘harrowing’ true story have one question after watching it: “How did this not get a Best Picture nomination?”
It may be a big ask, with the Academy now nominating a whopping ten films for Best Picture at the Oscars.
This year's ceremony was absolutely stacked for films, with Barbenheimer, Poor Things, Past Lives, and Killers of the Flower Moon all vying for the award.
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Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer took home the award earlier this year, which didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone.
But this year was so competitive, that even universally loved films such as The Iron Claw received zero nominations.
Despite this, Netflix fans reckon one film from last year should have been in the mix: and that is Society of the Snow.
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The film came out in late 2023 on the streamer and tells the horrifying true story of the Uruguay Rugby Team’s plane crash in the Andes Mountains in 1972.
Based on a book from 2009 by Pablo Veirci, it received 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.8/10 on IMDb, and is one of Netflix’s most watched films of all time.
Starring Enzo Vogrincic and Agustin Pardella, the film also received two Oscar nominations for Best International Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Despite this, it lost out in both and did not receive a nomination for Best Picture.
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One fan commented on a discussion thread surrounding the film on r/Movies to say: “The match cut from the guy alive to being a frozen corpse was f**king amazing.
"Terrific film. How this isn’t getting buzz for a Best Picture nomination is wild to me”
Another said: “It’s one of the better foreign films I’ve ever seen. Like, it’s actually so f**king good. I’m tempted to say it’s better than killers or Oppenheimer. It’s honestly so good.
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“Probably hit hard for me because I didn’t know the actual story.
“When you don’t know how it’s going to end (had no idea how many would survive, or how) it’s an insanely great story to behold. Because it’s all true.”
Kevin Maher of The Times heaped praise on the film, saying: “The power of the film resides in its moral even-handedness and technical virtuosity (the crash is genuinely terrifying)”.
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Amon Warmann of Empire Magazine gave the film four stars, saying: “A viscerally rendered plane crash gives way to an affecting story of humanity and survival. [Director J.A. Bayona] is on impressive form here.”
The film may have been going up against some other iconic foreign-langauge films like Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall, but you can see why there were calls for it to be in the running for Best Picture.
Topics: Netflix, Oscars, Film and TV, Rotten Tomatoes
Michael Slavin