How had I never seen... "Z" (1969)

by Mark Brinkerhoff

After finally having gotten around to seeing 1931’s M, it seemed only fitting to round it out with 1969’s Z, co-record-holder of the shortest movie title ever. Who knew that these two would have more in common than their one-word titles? 

Bracingly directed by Greek-born Costa-Gavras, the Algeria-set, French-language Z is a thinly veiled version of the circumstances around the 1963 assassination of a reformist Greek politician by right-wing zealots. Both the fictional and actual events stoked social upheaval and prompted a political crisis. Factor in a shady government coverup, eventually exposed by a dogged team of investigators and journalists, and you have the makings of a thriller that is as timeless as it is unnerving...

 

 

The cast assembled here is a who’s-who of mid-century continental star power: French (Yves Montand, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin), Greek (Irene Papas), Italian (Renato Salvatori), Polish (Charles Denner), Swiss (Clotilde Joano), et al. While some are utilized better than others, you certainly can see what drew them to the material.

 

Z is an interesting bridge between proto thrillers of the swinging sixties (like Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-up) and the increasingly paranoid lot (The Conversation, the just-discussed The Parallax View and Three Days of the Condor, etc.) that proliferated during the following decade. It has elements of vérité, inventive camera work, and rough-and-tumble action sequences (kudos to the actors who tussled—and fell from—a moving truck, sans stuntmen). 

 

By the end of Z’s two-plus-hour running time, the well-paced, low-budget film had accomplished something extraordinary for its time: a startling, socio-political thriller with a coda both sweet (criminal conspirators brought to justice) and sour (a military junta that effectively inverted it). Sadly, such a scenario seems not all far-fetched even today.

 

Z remains one for the history books. It’s the first film to be Oscar-nominated for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Motion Picture of the Year. Five decades later, it’s easy to gather why.

 

Your turn. Chime in about Z, which the Criterion Channel is streaming now (bless them).

Other episodes of this series:
M (31) by Mark Brinkerhoff
Rear Window (54) by Chris Feil
Cabaret (72) by Ben Miller
Enter the Dragon (73) by Cláudio Alves
The Parallax View / Three Days of the Condor (74/75) by Lynn Lee
Farewell, My Concubine (93) by Tim Brayton
While You Were Sleeping (95) by Cláudio Alves
Memories of Murder/The Host (03/06) by Cláudio Alves

Comments

[ScottC]

It’s one of the all-time greats. Hopefully more people will catch up with it. And yeah that “bridge” point is interesting.

[Jonathan]

There are actually several other films with one-word titles, including "A," "X," and "W" (the Oliver Stone one adds a period, of course).

[Jonathan]

One-LETTER of course. Whoops.

[thevoid99]

I saw this some years ago and man, it fucking floored me.

[Filmarbeiter]

It's a technical marvel and gripping for sure. But it's also equally homophobic as “Rome, Open City”!

[brookesboy]

LOVE this director. But I still haven't seen this. Now I really have to right away. Thanks!

[Wimsey]

I still prefer Missing, his take on the Chilean dictatorship, and with a tremendous performance by Jack Lemmon.

[LadyEdith]

"Z" with that riveting performance by Yves Montand still stands the test of time.
But this era is so difficult and scary that a lot of political films are resonating.

[joel6]

I'm with Wimsey on loving Missing more but this is a fantastic intricate film. Excellent in every department.

You're making out very well with filling in those blind spots! Hope you continue to be so lucky.