The Zone (2008)

Uruguayan screenwriter, producer and director Rodrigo Plá's feature film debut which he co-produced and which was written by screenwriter Laura Santullo, was screened in the Venice Days section at the 64th Venice Film Festival in 2007, in the Discovery section at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival in 2007, was shot on locations in Mexico and is a Mexico-Spain co-production which was produced by Spanish producer and director Alvaro Longoria. It tells the story about a student named Alejandro who lives in a restricted area with his mother and father which is made for the wealthiest people to protect them from the not so wealthy people who lives in Mexico City. Distinctly and finely directed by Latin-American filmmaker Rodrigo Plá, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints draws a gripping portrayal of how a segregated society acts when someone from the other side of the fences that shields them from the unwanted enters their community. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling production design by production designer and art director Antonio Muño-Hierro, cinematography by cinematographer Emiliano Villanueva and use of sound, this narrative-driven story where class distinctions are remarkably evident depicts an empathic study of character and contains a good score by composer Fernando Velazquez.This socio-political and atmospheric thriller from the late 2000s where a young man gradually learns the true nature of the society he has been raised in and how far they are willing to go to preserve their self-made and idealistic aristocracy, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, esoteric characters and the fine acting performances by Mexican actor Daniel Tovar, Spanish actor Daniel Giménez Cacho, Mexican actress Marina de Tavira and Spanish actor Carlos Bardem. A conversational, incisive and consistently intriguing drama which gained, among numerous other awards, the FIPRESCI Prize at the 32nd Toronto Film Festival in 2007.

Saw La Zona last night as part of the Hola Mexico film festival.Whilst I found the film reasonably entertaining I was ultimately left disappointed. Considering it was a feature film, I felt like I was watching something that was made for television.The actors do their best but ultimately the script is lacking and there is a real by-the-numbers feel to this.The characters are not fleshed out and the film lacks genuine tension which is a shame as the premise is a good one. There were lots of potential angles and ideas that were not explored.Some of the techniques used though worked well. Particularly the opening scene of the neighborhood houses in the reflection of the cars window which appears again later in the film. The security cameras in place around the zone also worked well.

Every year there's a summer movie festival in the open court of an old palace in my town. I like going there, with some friends of mine or alone, to see films carefully chosen every time from the recent months new releases. The logic is: no blockbusters, high quality. I knew nothing about "La Zona". From the first minute, i was given the possibility to see the future directly in the eyes of Aldous Huxley or George Orwell, if they were here now. The birth of a brave new world, full of violence, where law is a word without meaning. Or with a lot of different meanings, that's the same. The plot is very simple,but brilliant. A perfect mechanism, with classical roles and fantastic acting. Destiny is in the air, like in Greek tragedy, and the best of all is that you can't identify yourself with one or the other easily. If you do that, you'll be someway guilty. Not to miss.

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.