La Zona 2007

This expert thriller set in a wealthy walled community in Mexico City packs nail-biting suspense with a scathing broadside on class war. From the opening shot the anxiety underlying the kitset of plush suburban tranquillity is palpable. Surveillance cameras eye the fear. When a slum kid out stealing gets trapped within the walls, he's caught in a lethal game of hide-and-seek with the town's self-appointed guardians of law and order. An investigating cop, a bitter crusader for justice, comes looking for the boy, but is he any match for the town council or the venality and racism of his own higher-ups? — BG

"A riveting directing debut... This only slightly fictionalized portrait of Mexican society is certainly bleak but as a dramatic thriller, where tension builds from the opening moments, La Zona signals another promising discovery in a film industry that is definitely coming into its own golden age." — Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter