''Z'' is a 1969 Algerian

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

, directed by

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

, with a screenplay by Gavras and

Jorge Semprún Jorge Semprún Maura (; 10 December 1923 – 7 June 2011) was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clande ...

, 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 the democratic

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

politician

Grigoris Lambrakis Grigoris Lambrakis ( el, Γρηγόρης Λαμπράκης; 3 April 1912 – 27 May 1963) was a Greek politician, physician, track and field athlete, and member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of Athens. A member of ...

in 1963. With its dark view of Greek politics and its downbeat ending, the film captures the director's outrage about the junta that then ruled Greece. The film stars

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

as the investigating magistrate, an analogue of

Christos Sartzetakis Christos Sartzetakis ( el, Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης; 6 April 1929 – 3 February 2022) was a Greek jurist and a supreme justice of the Court of Cassation, who served as the President of Greece from 1985 to 1990. Early life and educ ...

, who would be the Greek president from 1985 to 1990. International stars

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held stron ...

and

Irene Papas Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...

also appear but, despite their star billing have very little screen time.

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...

, who coproduced the film, plays a key role as a photojournalist. The film's title refers to a popular Greek protest slogan ( el, Ζει, ) meaning "he lives," in reference to Lambrakis. It was the first film and one of only a handful to be nominated by the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for both

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. It won the latter as well as the Jury Prize at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, the

BAFTA Award for Best Film Music This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, which is presented to film composers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts si ...

and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film. At the

27th Golden Globe Awards The 27th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1969, were held on February 2, 1970. Winners and nominees Film Other: Cecil B. Demille Award Joan Crawford Television Best Actor - Drama Series Mike Connors &ndas ...

, its producers refused the award to protest the film's exclusion from the Best Motion Picture – Drama category.

Plot

The story begins with the closing moments of a rather dull government lecture and slideshow on agricultural policy until the leader of the security police of a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

military-dominated government takes over the podium for an impassioned speech describing the government's program to combat

leftism Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

by using the metaphors "a

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

of the mind", an infiltration of " isms" and "sunspots". The scene shifts to preparations for a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

of the opposition faction in which the pacifist deputy is to give a speech advocating

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nuclea ...

. There have been attempts by the government to prevent the speech from being delivered. The venue has been changed to a much smaller hall, logistical problems have appeared out of nowhere and the people handing out leaflets about the change of venue are attacked by thugs under the command of the police. On his way to the venue, the deputy is hit on the head by one of the right-wing

anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

protestors, some of whom are sponsored by the government, but carries on with his sharp speech. 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 the police manipulate witnesses to force the conclusion that the deputy was simply run over by a

drunk driver Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

. However, the police do not control the hospital, where the autopsy disproves their interpretation. The

examining magistrate In an inquisitorial system of law, the examining magistrate (also called investigating magistrate, inquisitorial magistrate, or investigating judge) is a judge who carries out pre-trial investigations into allegations of crime and in some cases m ...

, 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 his widow to give her the surprising news of the officers' indictments. The widow looks distressed and appears not to believe things will change for the better. An

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

provides a synopsis of the subsequent turns of events. Instead of justice being served, the prosecutor is mysteriously removed from the case, several 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. The heads of the government resign after public disapproval, but before elections are carried out, a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

occurs, and the military seize power. They ban modern art,

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

novelists, modern mathematics,

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

and modern philosophers and the use of the term " Ζ" ( el, zíta, or el, zi, which is used by protesters against the former government), which refers to the deputy and means: "He lives."

Cast

Production

The 1963 murder of Greek politician and physician

and subsequent

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

served as the basis for the story. Among Costa-Gavras' references to the actual events was the frequency with which the military compared ideologies to diseases, seen when the General compares -isms to

. The Magistrate was based on real-life Greek jurist

. Costa-Gavras opted to show the Deputy had adulteries and conflicts with his wife to demonstrate he was simply a man. Costa-Gavras was also motivated by the suspicious disappearance of

Mehdi Ben Barka use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

in 1965. Some American viewers infer parallels between the film and the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

, particularly given how some stylistic elements seem to mimic the

Zapruder film The Zapruder film is a silent 8mm color motion picture sequence shot by Abraham Zapruder with a Bell & Howell home-movie camera, as United States President John F. Kennedy's motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November ...

. That said, Costa-Gavras has stated that the Zapruder film had not been widely circulated in Europe at the time and that Kennedy's assassination did not influence the production.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

took place in Algiers at actor

's suggestion, which the filmmakers approved for its

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

environment and because the Ministry of Culture was accommodating. In Algiers, the Hotel St. Georges and the central square were filming locations, while Paris' Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was used for the ballet scenes.

Marcel Bozzuffi Marcel Bozzuffi (28 October 19291 February 1988) was a French film actor. He appeared as a hitman in the Oscar-winning American film '' The French Connection''. In 1963, he married French actress Françoise Fabian. Selected filmography *1955: ...

performed his own stunts wrestling on the "Kamikaze" vehicle due to the production's lack of budget for professional stunt performers. Costa-Gavras chose ''Z'' as the title of the film based on its common occurrence in Greek

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, for "He lives" (or even "Lambrakis you live; be our guide!" �αμπράκη ζεις, εσύ μας οδηγείς!; ''Lambráki zis, esý mas odigís!''; Costa-Gavras acknowledged a one-letter film title was unconventional and said

expressed concern it would be confused with ''

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

'', but Costa-Gavras said the novelty of the idea won him over.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

, was a hit record. The Greek junta had placed the composer under house arrest but he was able to give his approval to Costa-Gavras for the use of existing musical pieces. The film features, but does not credit, Pierre Henry's contemporary hit song, " Psyché Rock". The soundtrack as released on LP and CD replaces Henry's song with a similar track written by Theodorakis named "Café Rock." # Main Title (Antonis) from the "

Mauthausen Trilogy The "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen" and the "Mauthausen Cantata", is a cycle of four arias with lyrics based on poems written by Greek poet Iakovos Kambanellis, a Mauthausen concentration camp survivor, and music wr ...

" of Mikis Theodorakis # The Smiling Youth # The Chase-The Smiling Youth # Murmur of the Heart # Cafe Rock # Arrival of Helen-The Smiling Youth # Batucada # The Smiling Youth (Bouzouki Version) # The Smiling Youth # Who's Not Talking About Easter # Finale-The Smiling Youth # Murmur of the Heart # In This Town "The Happy Youth" and "Who's Not Talking About Easter" were among the poems adapted from

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

's play '' The Hostage'' by Theodorakis in 1962. By referring to the Irish struggle against British rule rather than Greek realities, they offered a way to circumvent censorship in Greece and condemn Greece's post-war right-wing establishment. "The Smiling Youth" (το γελαστό παιδί) was also one of the nicknames of Lambrakis.

Reception and legacy

Prints of the film were acquired by the Black Panther Party and shown at underground screenings. An advance copy of the film was shown at the

United Front Against Fascism The United Front Against Fascism (UFAF) was an anti-fascist conference organized by the Black Panther Party and held in Oakland, California, from July 18 to 21, 1969. Background The May 31, 1969 issue of '' The Black Panther'' called for a "Re ...

conference in 1969. It first aired on American television on The ABC Monday Night Movie in March 1974.

Critical response

At the time of release, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' film critic Roger Ebert, who named ''Z'' the best film of 1969, 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." In 2006,

James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...

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." 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 Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African Ame ...

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." Filmmakers

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

and Aki Kaurismäki listed the film in their top 10 films of all time for the 2012 Sight and Sound poll. It is regarded as one of American filmmaker Oliver Stone's favorite films that inspired his filmmaking. The American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh listed ''Z'' as an inspiration on his film ''

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

'' and even stated that he: "wanted to make it like osta-Gavrass Z". The American filmmaker

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the " New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in ...

listed ''Z'' as one of his favorite films and mentioned the film's influence on him when directing his film, '' The French Connection'': "After I saw ''Z'', I realized how I could shoot the French Connection. Because he osta-Gavrasshot 'Z' like a documentary. It was a fiction film but it was made like it was actually happening. Like the camera didn't know what was gonna happen next. And that is an induced technique. It looks like he happened upon the scene and captured what was going on as you do in a documentary. My first films were documentaries too. So I understood what he was doing but I never thought you could do that in a feature at that time until I saw ''Z''." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a 94% "fresh" score based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's consensus states: "Powerfully effective, this anti-fascist political thriller stands out as both high-conscience melodrama and high-tempo action movie." The film was voted in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

s list of ''The 15 Best Political Films of All Time''. The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

Box office

The film had a total of 3,952,913 admissions in France and was the 4th highest-grossing film of the year. It was also very popular in the United States grossing $17.3 million, being one of the top five highest-grossing non-English language films there.

Accolades

''Z'' was the second foreign-language film in

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

history to receive a nomination for

, after ''

Grand Illusion Grand Illusion may refer to: Music * ''Grand Illusion'' (album), by Nocturnal Rites, 2005 *'' The Grand Illusion'', a 1977 album by Styx, and its title song *"Grand Illusion", a song from the 2016 album '' In the Now'' by Barry Gibb *"Grand Illu ...

''.

References

External links

* * * *
''Z''
background and analysis at Plaka
''Z: Sounding the Alarm''
an essay by

Armond White Armond White (born ) is an American film and music critic who writes for ''National Review'' and ''Out''. He was previously the editor of '' CityArts'' (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly ''New York Press'' (1997–201 ...

at the Criterion Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Z (Film) 1969 films Films set in 1963 Algerian drama films 1960s French-language films 1960s Russian-language films 1960s English-language films 1960s crime thriller films French crime thriller films English-language French films English-language Algerian films Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners Edgar Award-winning works Existentialist films Films about assassinations Films based on Greek novels Films directed by Costa Gavras Films set in Greece Films shot in Algeria Films shot in France Films shot in Paris Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award Political films based on actual events 1960s in Greek politics French political thriller films Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis Films about anti-fascism Films à clef National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film winners Films about coups d'état Films about political repression 1960s French films