A sharp allegory on class war and surveillance paranoia disguised as simply a smashing edge-of-the-seater, expect this to ride a wave of word-of-mouth recommendations.
When a gated community in Mexico City is breached by a gang of hoods, the affluent members of the protected suburb prove themselves as violent as the thugs they claim are ready to rape and loot them.
As murder quickly mounts (including an accidental killing of a guard), the community’s Assembly, including Daniel (Cacho) and Rottweiler tough Gerardo (Bardem), vote to hide the events from relentless police captain Rigoberto (Zaragova) and hunt down a thief still loose in the Zone before he can report what he has witnessed.
Matters become complicated when the thief (Chavez) seeks refuge in Daniel’s house, and is protected by his son Alejandro (Tovar), torn between his sense of right and wrong and the paranoia of the community.
Pla and co-writer Laura Santullo’s script starts with a literal bang as a storm cuts power in the Zone, and thrusts events forwards with ruthless efficiency, undermining expectations as the situation spirals out of control.
Resisting the urge to demonise the rich, Pla gives Daniel a scene to explain his reasons for moving his family to the community, and does not shy away from Miguel’s original criminal intentions.
Using CCTV cameras, low-lit visuals and a sterile colour scheme to maintain a sense of dread and violence, La Zona takes a pessimistic view of the class war, local residents chasing Miguel into a very symbolic sewer, The Assembly creating a list of possible police collaborators, and the community’s high school kids encouraged to enlist in vigilante squads, fuelled by exaggerated rumours of the thieves’ crimes.
Tovar makes for an agreeable audience anchor in a cast that never puts a foot wrong, including cameo-ing Maribel (Y Tu Mama Tambien) Verdu as his self-loathing mother and Zaragova as the wrist bound police captain.
Dark, compelling, and with the courage of its hard-nosed convictions, La Zona starts off gripping and squeezes like a vice come the disturbing conclusion.
