La Zona

This one started out with a lot happening with too many characters doing their thing and it took me a while to really get a grasp of what was actually going on. I was a bit fidgety for the first 30 minutes or so. However once I realised what was going on, I sat transfixed.

The movie is not so much about the story , which is fairly simple about a heist gone wrong, and to a certain extent predictable . It is more of a comment on Mexican society and the class struggle. And since I myself come from a society not too different from the one depicted, I could completely relate with the happenings. Other than that, the film also covers issues like families struggling to keep together, the lack of communication, xenophobia, self-righteousness and the basic human instinct of violence, rage and revenge.

The direction is simply brilliant and it is equally matched with the acting by every single character. The only other film I can compare this to is the great Italian film, L'Aria Salata. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to watch it and I highly recommend it for all people seriously interested in cinema. It will leave you thinking for a long time afterwards. I would definitely watch it a second time.

OK. So I just saw La Zona @ SFIFF, and I must say... BRAVO!! Another big success for Mexican cinema, and well earned indeed. Rodrigo Pla's first feature delivers a harsh social and political critique about Mexican social classes and fundamental morality within a gripping and thrilling narrative.

As another Mexican film about social contrasts, I must say, it proves originality. La Zona (or The Zone) delves further into character development and the consequences of moral judgment. Pla's film remains interesting because it touches upon a broader universal theme: the human struggle to choose between right and wrong. With an engaging narrative, inventive setting and well developed character arcs, La Zona gets its point across, and makes us think…

This film delivers recurring themes in Mexican cinema but with a much fresher and more creative perspective, not to mention exciting…

Much 'props' to Villanueva's enthralling cinematography and to Zaragoza's performance as the chief of police…

8 out of 10. I really liked it.

La Zona for me looks like a Hollywood film. That is not of course a bad thing, but after hearing about this film, I was expecting a more original look. Now it felt like any other drama coming from L.A. Even though this one was done in Mexico.

For me a lot of the acting was overdone and very theatrical. There were a lot of scenes that were touching and felt real, but there was a kind of unreal feeling through out the film.

It was however very well made. The cinematic style and compositions were well thought.

For me the film felt like a film, and I didn't believe in it. This caused me the lack of feeling and I didn't attach to the piece.

I really like. It's really one of the most ambitious films I've seen this year. The final scenes were so beautiful. The characters had clichés, but the others were more prominent. It was a very different thriller. It was one of those rare films that even a criminal could be innocent of and could be on his side. The insides exposed a painful world. It's an impressive and beautiful film. I definitely recommend it.

This is about the Mexican big city, there rich people have created a zone behind walls. They keep the world out, but they are also kept out. Three young thieves enter and the hunt begins. The rich just don't want to defend their privileges. They want to kill for them.

But few of them are monsters. And what could have been an after all rather conventional social thriller, is more than that. The plot turns many times and everything isn't what it seems.

A strong movie about a class hatred which is becoming a dangerous threat to our kind of societies. It's a warning to us, not just to the rich.