"Z" is a fiction film that is based on barely veiled facts. As a title card at the beginning of the film says: "Any similarity to real persons and events is not coincidental. It is INTENTIONAL". Although it is never mentioned that the film is situated in Greece, it is a public secret that the plot is about the killing of Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis (played by Yves Montand) in 1963.
It is not the amount of violence that makes "Z" a very scary movie. It is the way in which the (authoritarian) government presents itself as gentlemanlike and outsources their dirty work to some extremist paramilitary groups. The irony that the government visits a performance of the Bolshoi ballet from communist Russia while their paramilitary henchmen commit an assasination attempt on a left wing politician can not be missed.
With "Z" Costa Gavras demonstrates that he has mastered all aspects of the political thriller, both the political aspect and the thriller aspect. The film is on an equal level with such a classic as "The day of the Jackal" (1973, Fred Zinnemann). In this film there is also an outsourcing of dirty work. This time however it is done by the opposition and the agent is a professional hitman and not some self appointed vigilantes.
Halfway the film there is a change in lead character. Grigoris Lambrakis (Yves Montand) is killed and Jean Louis Trintignant becomes the leading actor playing the investigating judge. Also this judge is based on an actual person (Christos Sartzetakis). In the course of his investigation Sartzetakis becomes more and more convinced that the dead of Lambrakis is not an accident, as the government wants and expects him to believe. Famous is the scene in which he interrogates persons higher and higher in the government. They arrive very aggitated, but the judge answers each vocal outburst with the question "nom, prénom, profession?".
The character of the investigating judge is a glimmer of hope in this otherwise very dark movie. Why did the government take the risk of his investigation? I think because in the first place they want to keep up the appearance of respectability (see above) and in the second place the didn't expect that Sartzetakis would have the guts to do a real independent investigation.
The glimmer of hope is however just a glimmer. After the military coup in 1967 Sartzetakis falls out of favor and even spents some time in jail. Only after democracy is re-established he becomes President of Greece from 1985 -1990.
It is not the amount of violence that makes "Z" a very scary movie. It is the way in which the (authoritarian) government presents itself as gentlemanlike and outsources their dirty work to some extremist paramilitary groups. The irony that the government visits a performance of the Bolshoi ballet from communist Russia while their paramilitary henchmen commit an assasination attempt on a left wing politician can not be missed.
With "Z" Costa Gavras demonstrates that he has mastered all aspects of the political thriller, both the political aspect and the thriller aspect. The film is on an equal level with such a classic as "The day of the Jackal" (1973, Fred Zinnemann). In this film there is also an outsourcing of dirty work. This time however it is done by the opposition and the agent is a professional hitman and not some self appointed vigilantes.
Halfway the film there is a change in lead character. Grigoris Lambrakis (Yves Montand) is killed and Jean Louis Trintignant becomes the leading actor playing the investigating judge. Also this judge is based on an actual person (Christos Sartzetakis). In the course of his investigation Sartzetakis becomes more and more convinced that the dead of Lambrakis is not an accident, as the government wants and expects him to believe. Famous is the scene in which he interrogates persons higher and higher in the government. They arrive very aggitated, but the judge answers each vocal outburst with the question "nom, prénom, profession?".
The character of the investigating judge is a glimmer of hope in this otherwise very dark movie. Why did the government take the risk of his investigation? I think because in the first place they want to keep up the appearance of respectability (see above) and in the second place the didn't expect that Sartzetakis would have the guts to do a real independent investigation.
The glimmer of hope is however just a glimmer. After the military coup in 1967 Sartzetakis falls out of favor and even spents some time in jail. Only after democracy is re-established he becomes President of Greece from 1985 -1990.