Alive

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. You will be hard-pressed to find a more intense survival story than the one found in “Alive”, which is even more impressive because it’s all based on true events. I had heard a lot about this film, mostly about some of the more grisly details, but I was surprised to find how emotional and thrilling it was to watch nonetheless. The plot concerns a Uruguayan plane flying over the Andes. The passengers are rugby players in their early 20s and their coaches on their way to Chile. Suddenly, the plane crashes. The pilots are dead, the radio is useless, the supplies are scarce and it is very very cold. The survivors must find a way to survive against all odds, hoping that someone will find them in this frozen wasteland.

If you’ve heard of this film, it’s probably because of the cannibalism involved so I’m going to address that part first. Your instinct is probably to think that either the survivor situation turned into a “Lord of the Flies” type of thing where people started going crazy and eating each other, or that this is going to be something that borders on a horror film, with people’s intestines being strung up over a fire like sausages. That isn’t the case. Let me break down the scenario for you: The plane has crashed and there is very little food. People are eating a square of chocolate and a thimble of wine daily to make supplies last. Our heroes are scrambling to keep warm. People are dying from their injuries or from disease. Morale is way down and hope seems completely lost. Eventually, someone comes up with the idea of eating the bodies of those who have died. There’s a big theme of religion in this film so some argue that once the soul leaves the body, there’s nothing left but meat. Others argue (pretty sensibly) that it’s an offence to the human body to even think of this. After some thought being put into it, some begin to relate the idea of giving up your flesh to save your friends as something akin to Jesus Christ telling his apostles that the bread they are eating at the last supper is his flesh, given up to save humanity. It’s the most shocking part of the story, but it’s not just a gimmick, it’s a testament to the human will to survive.

There’s a lot more to this film than just the cannibalism, it really is a story about a group of being that refuse to give up hope. These are not soldiers on a mission that went wrong, or wildlife trackers used to doing whatever it takes to get back home, they’re ordinary people. Surviving is about more than just finding food and shelter, it’s about getting organized, keeping busy, finding ways to cope with the stress they’re under. I liked seeing characters that were just as smart as me. Between the group of people there, you have some ingenious and creative minds that simply refuse to give up. Just on the level of ingenuity you have to applaud these people because you know a lot of people would have just given up.

What’s so exciting about the film is that these feel like real people. Usually in bad survival movies you always have one random lunatic thrown in the mix. A guy that wants to seize all the power for himself, that will go on a rampage and kill people he feels are “slowing down the group” or goes all rapist on the one female character because so many screenwriters feel the need to have a villain in the film. It isn’t the case here. The enemy is despair and the mountain. The heroes are the survivors. It’s a test of endurance, a battle of wits and a tremendous underdog story. The film juggles a lot of characters but you do feel like you get to know the key ones and you get a feel for the group as well. As the number of survivors dwindles I did get emotional about it. I sort of knew where the movie was going, but that didn’t make it any less powerful to me.

Initially I didn’t have any problems with the film at all, but in retrospect I do have to surrender to the fact that despite the film being consistently exciting and kind of awe-inspiring. “Alive” doesn’t really capture the full effect of the story. One might argue that it would be impossible to transfer the gravity of such an event into a 2-hour film, but if there’s a flaw, that’s it. Because these are actors that the director chose not to starve and because you can’t really convey the utter despair you would feel after weeks of being stuck in the wreckage of a plane, surrounded by dead bodies it does feel like there is something missing. That said, it’s as good as it’s going to get. The performances are solid, the special effects are terrific, there’s real gravity in the situations. I found it to be thrilling, moving and fascinating to watch. The premise of “Alive” sounds ghoulish, but this is not a gimmicky exploitation movie, it’s a stirring adventure and a drama whose story will stick with you. (On Dvd, May 18, 2014)