Classic
"Any similarity to real persons or events is not coincidental. It is INTENTIONAL.”
With one of film’s most baldly provocative opening statements, Costa-Gavras offers a thriller that hits the ground running. The audience is thrown full force into a poorly veiled satirisation of Greek politics.
Screened in the Cannes Classics section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Z is a (not-so-fictional) tale depicting the public assassination of a prominent left-wing politician. After delivering an unwelcome speech on nuclear disarmament, the Deputy (Yves Montand) is struck by a man driving past in a delivery truck. While it’s clear to the audience that he was not “run over by a drunk driver”, the Greek police and military flagrantly attempt to cover up the Deputy’s death. However, the hospital quickly dismisses their claim, proving through an autopsy that the Deputy was not involved in a hit-and-run. Very soon, news of the police conspiracy reaches the community, and an examining magistrate (Jean-Louis Trintignant) begins to investigate the case. With the help of a photojournalist, he uncovers evidence that throws the audience into a socio-political scrum of power relations, faces and job titles, including bureaucrats, wives, journalists, heavies, informants, witnesses and generals — all of which reveal the corruption that takes place behind the government’s closed doors.
With a terrific ensemble of actors, Z reveals the mechanics of silencing a country. The film’s antagonists threaten and beat anyone who rebels, their power making them fearless when it comes to illegality.
Costa-Gavras is a master of the suspenseful, political thriller; he stays in the moment with a stylishly shot film that keeps the period alive — providing us with the prize of the truth and revealing that our rivals are those who lead us but seek to beat us into a state of compliance and apathy.