Stranded

In 1972, a plane crashed high in the Andean mountains. The survivors endured cold and helplessness with remarkable fortitude and solidarity. When they ran out of food, they ate the bodies of the dead. Eventually, near death after over two months, two of them trekked for ten days and found help. This astonishing documentary tells their stories in their own words. There are a few pictures from the time; some reconstruction; and footage from a visit they took with their families over 30 years later to the site of the crash. It's understated, and slow, but brilliantly does justice to their experience and leaves the viewer with a sense of profound amazement at what humans at their best can do in adversity. And how life is always worth saving, even when all appears lost.

The actual survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash have finally spoken, and you will be captivated by their words. Gonzalo Arijon, a neighbor and friend of many of the survivors, has put together a documentary called "Stranded: I Have Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains" that retells the story and illuminates it with commentary from all the survivors. The result is the closest one could possibly get to empathizing with that situation and gaining any sort of understanding of how life changes when you are stranded in the mountains for over 70 days.

The film tells it from right as they are getting on the plane until their eventual rescue, leaving very little out. It runs a bit too long, but it's worth it for the emotional impact. You need to have some familiarity with the monotony of the survivors' lives for those two months to truly appreciate their rescue.

While the survivors are the ones who truly make this story come to life, Arijon succeeds in his reenactments and the way he overlaps the survivors' words with these images. He never reenacts anything dramatically or let any words other than those of the survivors into the film. The images he recreates simply set a mood, provide some sort of visual context for the words of the survivors.

The way these men describe what happened is simply remarkable. They seem to recall it so vividly and the words they use to convey feelings that an overwhelming majority of people cannot ever say they have experienced in such a way that you can understand it. When the survivors are hit with an avalanche, the way they describe this near-death experience gives you a sense of what death might feel like. It is not far off when these men refer to their survival as coming back to life. The silence during the very sensitive and difficult parts is also very appropriate and effective. Lastly, the survivors come at the experience from all angles. There is so much to think about in this film from the way they view life now to how being outside of civilization affects your mind to the ethical considerations of the cannibalism that these men chose to partake in.

"Stranded" is powerful, deep and rich with complexity. It was far and away worth the four years of effort and care that Arijon gave it. It is simply one of the best stories of human perseverance ever and the film conveys this with absolute accuracy. ~Steven C

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This is an excellent, respectful piece of work. It made me feel as if I were there and challenged my preconceptions of this story. It's much better than the film from 1993 "Alive" which tended to sensationalise. Do try to see it, you will be a better person for it.

Says the Telegraph: "They smelled of the grave," says a Chilean shepherd as he describes his first encounter with some of the survivors of the infamous 1972 plane crash in the Andes which hit the headlines with its tales of cannibalism. Gonzalo Arijón's dramatised documentary recalls the aftermath of a snowstorm that caused a plane carrying 45 members of a Uruguayan rugby team to crash in the appropriately named Valley of Tears. Sixteen of them survived by eating the dead, an "intimate communion" movingly recalled in the reminiscences of the survivors. It makes for a well-crafted, powerful film about human survival."

One of my earliest memories was when little Billy Markland came into kindergarten and told everyone, "a plane crashed and the people ate the people." That was all he said, and for years if not decades, that's basically all the world knew about it. Sure some details emerged, a book was written, and Ethan Hawke did a movie about it, but we never really got the full story. Not like we finally get here.

When I say "the full story", I'm not talking about the gory details of what human flesh tastes like (which, be honest, is what we're all wondering!). But what this film offers is some profound insight into the minds of the survivors, as told by themselves.

I was really surprised at how intelligent and philosophical their statements are. The survivors touch on many compelling subjects, like "is cannibalism an act of primitive savagery, or could it be an evolutionary step forward?" The kids aboard the doomed flight were mostly religious and with strong moral consciences. But when morality interferes with survival, does it become obsolete? Another interesting topic touched upon is "how does a social structure form itself?" We are given insight into what codes of behaviour emerge among a group of people who are no longer bound to follow any codes of behaviour. If you think author William Golding had it pegged in "Lord of the Flies", you might want to watch this as the antithesis to that pessimistic parable of human society.

Therein lies the power of this documentary. It's not just a tale of 14 survivors in the snow. It's an allegory of the entire human species and what we do to survive and hopefully evolve into something greater.

This is the kind of film that can provide hours of interesting debate around the dinner table (uh... well maybe not the DINNER table). If you approach it like a scientist studying an experiment, you will be fascinated. In fact, one of the survivors talks about how it felt like they were guinea pigs in some laboratory test, designed to show how humans hold up under the most maddening conditions.

The only minor criticism I have is that the documentary feels slightly biased, aiming to glorify the survivors and shy away from any negative portrayals. That's fair; the survivors doubtlessly deserve glorification. But it made me wonder if there was a little more to the story that we weren't told. I admit that's sheer cynical speculation (I should probably stop watching Fox News).

In any case, this is a well-made documentary with lots of intelligent interviews, some convincing, dramatic re-enactments and definitely enough meat to it. Oooh, bad metaphor... Let's just say the film really picks your brain. Oopsie, another TASTELESS quip. Haha, I bet you're FED UP WITH PEOPLE like me... Aw, please don't give me the COLD SHOULDER.....

Cannibals hate comedians... because they taste funny. Yuk yuk

The story of the survivors of the famous plane crash that inspired 'Alive' – the book and movie.

But rather than focus on the sensationalistic aspects (the death, the cannibalism), it focuses on the emotions, the spiritual crisies, the triumphs and the humanity of these remarkable men.

Through a mix of amazingly candid, open (and beautifully shot) interviews, subtle, well done re- creation footage (a technique I usually despise, but is done so deftly that it works), old footage and photographs, and film of the men returning to the site of their harrowing adventure 30 years later, some with their children, this creates a deeply moving portrait of friendship, loss, courage, and introspection.