| Z | |
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Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Costa Gavras |
| Produced by | Jacques Perrin Ahmed Rachedi |
| Screenplay by | Jorge Semprún Costa Gavras |
| Story by | Vassilis Vassilikos |
| Starring | Jean-Louis Trintignant Yves Montand Irene Papas Jacques Perrin |
| Music by | Mikis Theodorakis |
| Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
| Editing by | Françoise Bonnot |
| Distributed by | Cinema V (US) |
| Release date(s) | February 26, 1969 (France) |
| Running time | 127 minutes |
| Country | Algeria France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $14,283,305 (USA)[1] |
Z is a 1969 French language political thriller directed by Costa Gavras, with a screenplay by Gavras and Jorge Semprún, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Vassilis Vassilikos. The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963. With its satirical view of Greek politics, its dark sense of humor, and its downbeat ending, the film captures the outrage about the military dictatorship that ruled Greece at the time of its making.[2] Z stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as the investigating magistrate (an analogue of Christos Sartzetakis, who 22 years later was appointed President of Greece by democratically-elected parliamentarians). International stars Yves Montand and Irene Papas also appear, but despite their star billing have very little screen time compared to the other principals. Jacques Perrin, who co-produced, plays a key role. The film's title refers to a popular Greek protest slogan (Greek: Ζει, IPA: [ˈzi]) meaning "he (Lambrakis) lives". The film had a total of 3,952,913 admissions in France and was the 4th highest grossing film of the year. [3]
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The location of the action is never expressly stated (filming took place primarily in Algiers), but there are hints (such as the newspaper that The Deputy reads, which is Ta Nea, advertisements for Fix Hellas, one of the four well known brands of Greek beer, characters are drinking Alpha and Fix beers through the movie, Greek can be heard in the background and there is a picture of Aliki Vougiouklaki, a famous Greek actress, in one of the taverns) that it is Greece in the early 1960s. Furthermore, in the opening credits there is a mock disclaimer which reads (in translation): "Any resemblance to real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental. It is INTENTIONAL."
The story begins with the closing moments of a rather dull government lecture and slide show on agricultural policy, after which the leader of the security police of a right-wing military-dominated government takes over the podium for an impassioned speech describing the government's program to combat leftism, using the metaphors of "a mildew of the mind", an infiltration of "isms", or "sunspots".
The scene shifts to preparations for a rally of the opposition faction where the Deputy (Montand) is to give a speech advocating nuclear disarmament. It is obvious that there have been attempts to prevent the speech's delivery. The venue has been changed to a much smaller hall and logistical problems have appeared out of nowhere. As the Deputy crosses the street from the hall after giving his speech, a delivery truck speeds past him and a man on the open truck bed strikes him down with a club. The injury eventually proves fatal, and by that time it is already clear to the viewer that the police have manipulated witnesses to force the conclusion that the victim was simply run over by a drunk driver.
However, they do not control the hospital, where the autopsy disproves their interpretation. The examining magistrate (Trintignant), with the assistance of a photojournalist (Perrin), now uncovers sufficient evidence to indict not only the two right-wing militants who committed the murder, but also four high-ranking military police officers. The action of the film concludes with one of the Deputy's associates rushing to see the Deputy's widow (Papas) to give her the surprising news of the officers' indictments.
An epilogue provides a synopsis of the subsequent turns of events. Instead of the expected positive outcome, the prosecutor is mysteriously removed from the case, key witnesses die under suspicious circumstances, the assassins receive (relatively) short sentences, the officers receive only administrative reprimands, the Deputy's close associates die or are deported, and the photojournalist is sent to prison for disclosing official documents.
As the closing credits roll, before listing the cast and crew, the filmmakers first list the things banned by the junta. They include: peace movements, strikes, labor unions, long hair on men, The Beatles, other modern and popular music ("la musique populaire"), Sophocles, Leo Tolstoy, Aeschylus, writing that Socrates was homosexual, Eugène Ionesco, Jean-Paul Sartre, Anton Chekhov, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, Mark Twain, Samuel Beckett, the bar association, sociology, international encyclopedias, free press, and new math. Also banned is the letter Z, which was used as a symbolic reminder that Grigoris Lambrakis and by extension the spirit of resistance lives (zi = "he (Lambrakis) lives").
and two uncredited cameos by the film's director of photography, Raoul Coutard, and the film's editor, Françoise Bonnot, as the English Surgeon (Dodd) and the final voiceover, respectively.
At the time of its release, film critic Roger Ebert liked the screenplay and its message, and wrote, "[Z] is a film of our time. It is about how even moral victories are corrupted. It will make you weep and will make you angry. It will tear your guts out...When the Army junta staged its coup in 1967, the right-wing generals and the police chief were cleared of all charges and "rehabilitated." Those responsible for unmasking the assassination now became political criminals. These would seem to be completely political events, but the young director Costa-Gavras has told them in a style that is almost unbearably exciting. Z is at the same time a political cry of rage and a brilliant suspense thriller. It even ends in a chase: Not through the streets but through a maze of facts, alibis and official corruption."[4]
In 2006, James Berardinelli wrote, "Z was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras, but it is the movie that captured him to the world's attention, winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It introduced the director's signature approach of combining overt political messages with edge-of-the-seat tension."[5] Jonathan Richards wrote in 2009, "It's hard to overstate the impact that this Oscar-winning procedural thriller had in 1969, on a world roiling in political activism, repression, and discord. In the U.S., the Vietnam War was on the front burner, the populace was passionately engaged, and the police riots outside the '68 Chicago Democratic Convention and the murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton were raw wounds. With this stylish, intense indictment of the assassination of a leftist political leader by a right wing government cabal in his native Greece, director Costa-Gavras struck a nerve that resonated here and around the globe."[6]
The soundtrack, by Mikis Theodorakis, was also a record hit. The film features, but does not credit, Pierre Henry's contemporary hit song, "Psyché Rock".
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by No award 1967-8 Alfie (1966) |
Jury Prize, Cannes 1969 |
Succeeded by Magasiskola tied with The Strawberry Statement |
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