Z
Z is a 1969 Algerian-French political thriller film, 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 dark view of Greek politics, and its downbeat ending, the film captures the director's outrage about the junta that ruled Greece at the time of its making.
Plot
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".
Awards
Cast
- Andrée Tainsy
- Bernard Fresson
- Charles Denner
- Clotilde Joano
- François Périer
- Gabriel Jabbour
- Georges Géret
- Georges Rouquier
- Gérard Darrieu
- Guy Mairesse
- Hassan El-Hassani
- Irene Papas
- Jacques Perrin
- Jean Bouise
- Jean Dasté
- Jean-Louis Trintignant
- Jean-Pierre Miquel
- José Artur
- Julien Guiomar
- Magali Noël
- Marcel Bozzuffi
- Maurice Baquet
- Pierre Dux
- Raoul Coutard
- Renato Salvatori
- Sid Ahmed Agoumi
- Yves Montand