Z (1969)
Directed by Costa-Gavras

Film Review

Winner of two oscars in 1969 (for best foreign picture, best editing) and awards at Cannes (the jury prize and best actor for Trintignant), Z is the film that took 1969 by storm.  Even today, the film is still highly regarded and has much to appeal to a new generation of cinema-goers.

On the surface, Z is a stunningly filmed political thriller, constantly surprising, alternating between great dramatic intensity and extremely entertaining black comedy.  At the heart of the film is a complex criminal investigation, but you don't have to follow all the twists and turns of that investigation to appreciate the film.  The beauty of this film lies not in its detail - and there is certainly a lot of that - but in its overall construction, in its use of unusual editing and photography, reinforced by an astonishing soundtrack, to totally engross the viewer.  The best films are those that don't just tell a story, but also create an experience.  Z certainly has that impact.  From the first scene to the last, watching this film genuinely does feel like a refreshingly new experience.

It should come as no great surprise that the unnamed country in which the film is set is intended to be Greece.  (The film itself was made in Algeria.)  The film is based on the novel by Vassili Vassilikos and parallels the real life assassination in 1963 of Gregorios Lambrakis, a popular public figure known for his left-wing views.  The significance of the letter Z is explained at the end of the film.

The film was directed by the Greek Constantinos Gavrás (known also as Costa-Gavras), son of a Russian emigrant who suffered harassment as a suspected communist when he settled in Greece in the 1930s.  This was to be the first in a series of successful politically inclined films by the Greek director which had their basis in historic fact.

Film Synopsis

In an unnamed Mediterranean country run by an ultra right-wing government, a liberal party leader is assassinated after giving a public speech.  An investigation is launched to try to dispute claims of a police conspiracy, but the more the investigator looks into the case, the clearer it becomes that a cover-up is involved...