La Zona Research Tasks

1.Names of the main characters:

Alejandro- He is the son of the dual head detective in La Zona.

Daniel- Alejandro's father and dual head detective in La Zona.

Mercedes- The victim of the murder which the film is revolved around.

Gerardo- Daniel's partner as head detective in La Zona.

Rigoberto- The Captain of the Police Force in the surrounding area of La Zona. He has various disagreements with the committee of La Zona

Miguel- The only remaining survivor of the three that murdered Mercedes.

2. Relationships between characters:

Daniel and Alejandro are father and son living in La Zona. At the start of the film, the two seem to be apart of a close-knit family but as the film evolves and Alejandro becomes more independent, the two begin to drift apart as Daniel puts his job infront of his family; metaphorically. Gerardo and Daniel are the two main detectives who look for Miguel the so called murderer in their eyes. The two have a good relationship at their work, both working together to discover the whereabouts of Miguel. Rigoberto and the chief of police De La Garza have a more abrupt relationship as Rigoberto is nearly dragged over the edge in frustration throughout the film whereas De La Garza does his best to keep him in check with a more relaxed approach to solving the crime.

3. Character Traits - What are they like?

Alejandro is a very independent character but with a soft side aswell. He regularly falls out with his parents and is very abrupt in his speech towards them, but still has a social side when hanging around with his mates. The soft side comes out when he takes in Miguel and allows him to stay undercover in his basement. Adding to his soft side he doesn't tell anyone about his lodger resulting in the search for Miguel becoming much more intense. Rigoberto is a very aggressive and assertive character because of his violent and abusive approach to anyone that questions him. He frequently threatens the public trying to find information about the murder enquiry and even threatens his counterpart detective Gerardo on numerous occasions. Daniel is more of a laid back detective who takes a more sympathetic approach to the people in need of information. He is also very democratic for example when he finds Miguel he trys to order the people of La Zona to make a decision on what to do about him at the gym where they have their meetings.

4. Character Development

The only character that has a dramatic change during the film is Alejandro. He begins the film by enjoying spending time with his dad and joining him on his investigations. As Alejandro grows more wise to the whole situation in La Zona he becomes more independent for example trying to find the culprits with a few of his friends. He begins looking for the culprit by carrying a gun but in the end he becomes friends with Miguel and sympathises with him before he is eventually killed by all the civillians of La Zona

Essay response Ideas for the questions:

How do aspects of mise-en-scene and camerawork reinforce the differences between rich and poor?

• Long shots of the poor social class area
• High angle panning to show the differences
• Mise-en-scene aspects showing the types of cars in the rich area compared to the poor area
• The contrast in professions that characters from each area do.

What fears do the inhabitants of The Zone have? Are they shown in the film?

• They have fears of the lowlife that life in the poorer areas stealing from them.
• The fear of being attacked by the people outside of La Zona

Similarities between La Zona and Tsotsi?

• Both films deal with the different social classes in an area.
• The poorer people rely on stealing to earn a living for their families and themselves.
• There are fears from the richer classes towards the poorer.
• The poorer people are very violent.

La Zona showing similarities to a Mexican Society?

• Yes because of the gulf in wealth between the people
• The slums which the poor live in.
• The extents the poor go to, in order to get money.