La Zona, propriété privée

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 is one of those rare films which grips you from the start and doesn't let go till the end credits roll up. It is also a rare example of a thriller and social drama which delivers on both fronts.

La Zona are residential compounds in Mexico for the rich and the affluent. They have their own security system and guards and even law, thus separating them from the normal law of the land. These "zones" are real and do exist in Mexico city. The one depicted in the film is separated from the slum neighbourhood by large concrete walls and barbed wire. An accident causes one of the power pylons next to the Zone to collapse thus paving an entry for three young petty thieves from the slums to enter the Zone to make a quick burglary. Things go wrong, however, and two of the boys are shot dead while the third manages to escape from the burgled house but not from the zone.

We then follow the search for the boy, by the residents (who intend to kill him) and the cops, who are mostly corrupt ready to turn a blind eye for the right sum. The Zone is a superbly tense thriller and a damning indictment of the social system in Mexico. The residents in these zones appear to be totally cut off from the reality outside; a nice contrast is a golf course inside the Zone from which the players get a panoramic view of the slums.

It is hard to believe that this is the feature debut of its director Rodrigo Pla. It's one of the most accomplished feature debuts that I have ever seen and you can be certain that Rodrigo Pla's name is going to be much better known in the coming years.

Thrilling and thoughtful film dealing with a rich compound besieged by walls and security electric system to guard the inhabitants agains the violent exterior characterized by poorness , chaos and misery . Set in Mexico D.F. , when a billboard falls on the wall it creates a breach in which three tiny delinquents enter into the enclosed neighborhood .But it results to be a location that is impossible to getaway and they find caught-up in the wrong place and the wrong time ; then things go awry for the three unfortunate crooks . The residents turned Vigilantes to be aware the enemy invasion and relentlessly pursue the small time thieves .

A stirring and violent film that delves the real confrontation between social classes shocked by crimes and misdemeanors: The upper class and the lower class , as well as the police corruption and many other things . It shows the dark atmosphere of paranoia , tyranny , and mass hysteria of the wealthy people surrounded by strict surveillance system to protect against the poor slums and even organizing militias , acting as judges , juries and executioners . There are good acting by a decent cast , such as Daniel Gimenez Cacho as a council member who takes law on his own hands , Maribel Verdu as a mother who attempts help and guard his son , Carlos Bardem as a violen neighbour , as well as the veteran Blanca Guerra . Special mention for the newcomer duo teen : Chavez as the escaped boy hiding within the neighborhood's borders , at a basement , and Daniel Tovar as Alejandro , the good teen who brings him food and a pair of trainers and he tapes his story on his videocamara .

It contains an atmospheric and adequate cinematography by Emilio Villanueva . And an evocative and intriguing musical score by Fernando Velazquez who has composed a lot of successful soundtracks with such international hits as The impossible, A monster calls , The orphanage, Crimson Peak , Gernika and The invisible guardian .Compellingly produced by Mexican/Spanish prducers as Alvaro Longoria , Pilar Benito , Rafel Cuervo , Ricardo Fernandez and Rodrigo Pla himself .The motion picture was well written, produced and directed by Rodrigo Pla. He is a fine craftsman who has directed nice shorts and full feature films as Desierto Adentro , A monster with a thousand heads and La demora .

In any large city of Latin America or the rest of the third world, wealth and poverty coexist side by side, not uncommonly separated by just a thin high wall. In typical fashion the rich appropriate the bulk of the country's wealth, a few of the poor reclaim a tiny portion back through robbery and muggings, and the rich react in turn by protecting themselves and even striking back. It's low intensity class warfare.

La Zona is an enclave, a walled-city with massive iron gates, widely scattered security cameras and around-the-clock monitoring. It's the modern equivalent of the medieval castle. Laying siege is a slum, where live the nemeses of the inhabitants of La Zona. They have come to this enclave out of fear, for protection against further assaults, to enjoy the good life in a secure haven. Many are angry. Some have been victims. Some are vengeful.

The story begins when, during a storm, the wall is breached and electrical power is lost. A threesome from the slum takes advantage to penetrate the enclave and steal a few things. The temporary invasion does not go well. Shots are exchanged. People die. That event sets the wheels of the thriller in motion.

The typical characters are present. The honest police investigator whose work is subverted by a corrupt police department. The good bad-guy, the bad bad-guy, the good good-guy and the bad good-guy. They are all there, some in multiple copies. It's formulaic, but effective.

The premise is very good, all the more so as it describes a situation becoming more and more explosive of our days. Certainly we'll see more movies of the kind in the years to come.

Personally I think that the POV of poor teens trapped into La Zona would have been more interesting, at least from a suspense and action point of view. Following a rich teen dislocates such suspense, plus it means you have to take an interest in a kid who's not the subject of the movie. On the other hand the focus on the private militia of citizens is interesting, yet I'm still a bit unsatisfied.

So, the movie is pretty good, it is a nicely rounded up excellent premise but it could have been much better. As such you don't get out of the theater moved. Emotion, as suspense, is too much diluted into a narration that changes angles too often instead of building up the tension with a limited number of protagonists tied together.