Z (1969)

Directed by Costa-Gavras. Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin, Charles Denner, Bernard Fresson, Pierre Dux, Yves Montand, François Périer, Georges Géret, Julien Guiomar, Irene Papas, Marcel Bozzuffi, Renato Salvatori.

Feverish political thriller depicts the “accidental” murder of a Greek anti-fascist leader, gradually revealed through investigation as a planned assassination executed by a far-right organization. Rock-solid example of a wordy script being supercharged by gripping filmcraft that weaves through a deep roster of victims, instigators, obsessed parties, etc. without ever “losing the plot” or getting too confusing to breathlessly follow along. Brimming with suspense and anger, discontent to rest on the laurels of exposing the dirty work; though “justice” appears to be served at the end, all responsible parties ended up with little worse than a slap on the wrist in terms of jail sentences, and the contingency ended up assuming power anyway (while ultimately short-lived, it was still in effect at the time of the film’s production and release). Trintignant, playing the judge spearheading the examination (and the closest the film comes to a lead role even though he’s absent more than half of the running time), is the cast stand-out. Most depressing of all is how relevant the aggrieved message and bleak outlook remain after all these years. Oscar winner for Foreign Language Film; also won an Academy Award for Françoise Bonnot’s editing.

91/100