La zona (2007)

Residents of an enclosed neighborhood in the middle of Mexico DF are shocked by a violent crime, and for one resident in particular, young Alejandro, the drama is ratcheted up when he encounters the lone kid who escaped the event and is hiding out within the neighborhood's borders.

Director:

Rodrigo Plá

Writers:

Laura Santullo, Laura Santullo (story)

Stars:

Daniel Giménez Cacho, Daniel Tovar, Alan Chávez

18 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Daniel
Daniel Tovar	...	Alejandro
Alan Chávez	...	Miguel
Carlos Bardem	...	Gerardo
Mario Zaragoza	...	Comandante Rigoberto
Marina de Tavira	...	Andrea
Maribel Verdú	...	Mariana
Fernando Becerril	...	De La Garza
Andrés Montiel	...	Diego
Claudio Obregón	...	Ricardo
Blanca Guerra	...	Lucía
Mayra Serbulo	...	Ernestina (as Mayra Sérbulo)
Asur Zagada	...	Carolina
Germán Valdés III	...	Eddie (as Germán Váldez)
Pablo Aron López	...	Mauricio (as Pablo Arón López)

Storyline

In Mexico City, a wealthy compound is surrounded by walls and surveillance system to protect the locals against the violence of the slums. During a stormy night, a billboard falls over the wall and three smalltime thieves cross the border through the breach to rob. They break into a house and kill an old lady; the residents organize militias to chase the delinquents. Two of them and one security guard are murdered by the vigilantes, but the sixteen year old Miguel hides in the basement of the teenager Alejandro. When Alejandro finds Miguel, he feeds and helps the boy, but it is impossible to escape from the Zone.

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Plot Keywords:

wall | teenager | security guard | violence | hiding | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Memento Films [France]

Country:

Spain Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Zona

Filming Locations:

Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morena Films,Buenaventura,Fondo de Inversión y Estímulos al Cine (FIDECINE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Episode #5.41 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Yo me voy pa' la cumbia
(Bruno Garciía - Sargento Garciía)
© 2006 by Delabel Editions / EMI Music Publishing France. Edicíon autorizada en exclusiva para todos les países del mundo a EMI Music Publishing Spain,
S.A. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

User Reviews

Very good premise, nice execution

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.