In a world subjected more and more to violence, with the established societies not able to provide appropriate answers to social and political conflicts, ordinary people try to protect their normality by building walls. Tall, barbed wired walls, with armed guards behind which the apparently normal life – with children playing games and going to school and adults indulging into the pleasures of comfortable routine – can continue. To what extent are these walls efficient may be measured by statistics that show if crime or violence are lowered by building them. There is another factor and effect however that is harder to measure – what is the psychological impact upon the ones who are supposed to be protected by these walls? To what extent are the people protected by the walls really free? What is their relation to the world outside – morally? legally? Can normality of life be really protected by walls?Those generic questions get some answers in the Mexican director Rodrigo Pla's first film, applauded by critics and the jury of the Film Festival in Venice, a story about a well-doing urban community in Mexico who build a wall around their district and protect themselves in a vigilante manner. A state within another state unable to protect its privileged citizens. When intruders almost accidentally break into the protected area, the inevitable happens, and the members of the community are faced with the dilemma of continuing to protect their way of life at the cost of covering the killings of the not-so-innocent intruders and chasing the sole teenage survivor of the incident.Pla's efficient film making and good acting keep the interest awake for the whole duration of this film, despite the rather expected story line and the conventional characters. It is however the questions that can be asked beyond the immediate details of the story that provide value, questions about the balance between the need for normality and the price to pay in order to earn it, about the rights of all members of society not only to a quite life but also to basic living conditions and equal chances, about the moment when the power of law is superseded by the laws of power. The story may happen in Mexico but it is true and actual for many other places in the world.

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.

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.

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.