Review of Z

I liked this movie because it made me think--and that happens too infrequently in movies. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a fundamental battle for the hearts and minds of Western European nations--either the country should shift to the right politically and align itself with America or it should plot a more nationalistic course and try to remain neutral (and assuming that the Soviets posed very little actual threat). While I feel that the neutral position was too idealistic to work (it makes the assumption that American and Soviet societies are roughly equivalent), the movie shows the absolute horrors perpetrated by some right-wing governments (in this case, Greece) in order to thwart communism. The trampling of human rights and the complicity of the government in an assassination of a political rival is scary and well portrayed in this movie. About the only short-coming in the movie is that occasionally the cinematography is a bit choppy and grainy.

By the way, if you are looking for a movie happy ending where everything works out for good, this is probably NOT the movie for you.