Feature film
Z
Costa-Gavras · 1969
Synopsis
In a Mediterranean country that is never named, an opposition deputy, whom everyone calls the Doctor, comes to hold a public meeting for disarmament. On leaving the hall, he is struck and mortally wounded, and the authorities speak of an accident. A young examining magistrate takes up the inquiry and, step by step, against pressure from his superiors, reveals the part played by the police and the army in what was a murder.
Context
The film adapts the novel by Vassílis Vassilikós, written after the assassination of the deputy Grigóris Lambrákis in Thessaloniki, from a screenplay by Costa-Gavras and Jorge Semprún. As the dictatorship forbade filming in Greece, it was produced by Jacques Perrin with the Algerian film office and shot in Algiers in the summer of 1968. Mikis Theodorákis, imprisoned by the colonels, let the film's music be chosen from his work. Yves Montand plays the deputy, Jean-Louis Trintignant the judge. The letter of the title is the initial of the Greek word meaning he lives, which opponents wrote on walls.
Who it is for
About two hours, in French. No country is named, but the shop signs, brands and portraits point to Greece.
Prizes and reception
Jury Prize and Best Actor award for Trintignant at Cannes in 1969, then two Oscars in 1970, Best Foreign Language Film, on behalf of Algeria, and Best Film Editing.
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