Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Sindre Kaspersen 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.

sharkies69 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.

rasecz 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.

vostf 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.