?La Zona? (Spain-Mexico, 2007)
Directed by Rodrigo Plá
EVERYONE dreams of living in a perfect world adorned with smart stucco houses, manicured gardens, and smooth terrains. Surrounded by high walls and tough fences, this world boasts of a tight security and surveillance system that rivals that of Malacañang.
Your children cross the streets without fear. Your table is laden with meats and drinks, served by maids in uniform. On Sundays, you relax in your golf course. The air you breathe is clean and fresh. All is happy and safe.
Or is it?
It is a dark and stormy night when something unexpected happens. The rain lashes and the wind blows. A giant billboard topples and crashes through the walls of your world, pitching it into blackness and creating a break for three small-time thieves to infiltrate. And your elderly neighbor is robbed and murdered in cold blood.
This is the gripping opening of ?La Zona? (Spain-Mexico, 2007), direction by Uruguay-born Rodrigo Plá and screenplay by Laura Santullo based on her story of the same title.
Located in Mexico City, La Zona is an affluent subdivision demarcated from the slums of reality. It is a symbol of freedom and safe haven. The film, however, is more than a picture of social segregation, for in this privileged zone, the people are masters of their own universe.
Justice and righteousness
The populace, armed with weapons, takes immediate action to apprehend the robbers. Two are shot while trying to escape. Only one is left, hiding somewhere in the shadows of the walled city. A manhunt is organized, in defense of La Zona.
From here on, any semblance to suspense thrillers ceases. The plot shifts to scenes of dramatic tensions among the locals of the community as conflict arises between those who favor calling the cops and those who desire to safeguard their autonomy.
These thought-provoking moments invite the viewers to reflect on their perceived notions of justice and moral righteousness.
In the name of security for ourselves and our children, shall we uphold the Biblically-based principle of ?an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?? Or shall we let the proper authorities (the police whom we fear to trust) do their job? What is the right thing to do?
One significant condition of every civil society is the surrender of one?s ?right? to any personal vengeance, allowing instead a legitimate form of government with suitable law enforcement to make things ?right? for us. Therefore, those who take any judicial action into their own hands are, more often than not, branded as vigilantes. And in a civilized order, vigilantism is unacceptable.
However, when you have ?earned the right? to your own universe, you can make your own laws.
Self-imposed prison
The film furthermore introduces a complication: Alejandro, who has just celebrated his 16th birthday in La Zona, discovers the third robber in the basement of his home. The ?criminal? is a mere boy like him. He thus faces a dilemma: He can raise the alarm or he can let the boy get away.
The film suggests that, ironically, La Zona is a self-imposed confinement. It is as much a prison of one?s own making as it is a protective cell.
One character expresses anxiety that when his son grows up and asks him, how will he explain why they live behind a wall?
The film builds up to a shocking finale, as the defenders of the fortress turn to acts of complicity, corruption and violence, and something as basic as human decency crumbles.
The excellent cast is led by seasoned actors such as Daniel Giménez Cacho (Daniel), Carlos Bardem (Gerardo), Maribel Verdú (Mariana), and supported with equal flair by a young set which includes Daniel Tovar (Alejandro) and Alan Chávez (Miguel).
?La Zona? received the International Critics? Award (Fipresci) at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, and the Luigi de Laurentiis Lion of the Future Award at the 2007 Venice Film Festival.
?La Zona? will be screened on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. at Greenbelt 3 Cinemas.
(Shirley O. Lua teaches Literature at De La Salle University in Manila. She specializes in Philippine literature, diaspora studies, and film and literature. She is a member of the Philippine Center of International PEN, and one of the founding members of Alon Literary Collective, a Manila-based poets? group.)
