Z (1969)

Pierre Dux: Le général de gendarmerie Missou

Photos 

Quotes 

• The General : Our system is not an "-ism." This is a democracy.

• Le photojournaliste : Are you a victim like Dreyfus?

  The General : Dreyfus was guilty!

• The General : As the deputy minister of agriculture explained, three sprayings are required to prevent mildew. As with mildew, this ideological disease must be fought preventively. It is caused by harmful germs and various parasites. So the spraying of humans, with appropriate mixtures, is indispensable. Schools, in this case, constitute the first stage. That is where, if you'll excuse the metaphor, young shoots have not yet reached four or five inches. The second spraying is just before or after the blossoming. I refer to universities and young workers. Military service is the best time to protect the sacred tree of national liberty against infection from ideological mildew.

• The General : With the outbreak of such "-isms" as socialism, anarchism, imperialism, communism, etc., sunspots began to swarm across the face of the diurnal orb. God casts no light on the Reds. Scientists have announced a major increase in sunspots since the advent of beatniks, Provos, and, most of all, pacifist tendencies from Italy, France and Scandinavia.

• The General : We must preserve the healthy parts of our society and heal the infected parts.

• The General : That one's a mad dog. He'll make the most of it. No shame. A Jew, naturally.

  Le colonel de gendarmerie : A half-Jew.

  The General : Worst kind. They feel superior even to other Jews.

• Le procureur : He just died.

  The General : That doesn't change the terms of your statement. Simply replace "assault and battery" with "manslaughter."

• The General : My men couldn't stop the three-wheeler, but a man leaped onto the flatbed, like a tiger, lithe and ferocious like a tiger.

• Examining Magistrate : What did you do the day of the murder?

  The General : I'd decided to attend the Bolshoi. Not out of love for dance. I'm no pervert, thank God. But it was a chance to spot sympathizers.

• The General : Tonight, the enemy will meet in our city.

• The General : Is he a Communist? Why is he after me?

• The General : Yago this, Yago that! Nonsense!