Alive
1993
***
Director: Frank Marshall
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton, Bruce Ramsay, David Kriegel, Jack Noseworthy, Kevin Breznahan, David Cubitt, Illeanna Douglas, Ele Keats
In October 1972, a plane carrying an Uruguayan rugby team crashes into the Andes Mountains. With no sign of rescue, the survivors must decide whether they are ready to eat the dead passengers to survive. This fact-based drama is based on Piers Paul Read's book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. The crash is well staged and the film paints a believable picture of the circumstances, but a better director than Frank Marshall could probably squeeze proper tension out of this scenario. At its best, this is a moving portrayal of camaraderie and perseverance. At its worst, it is a clunky and poorly scripted drama that spends way too much time on theological discussions.
