Another review employs the ignorant word "pinko" not once but THREE times. This person blathers about the French pinkos. When. I reality, the book was written by a Greek, is about a Greek, is directed by a Greek, screenplay by a Greek and spoken in Greek.apparently Mr. pinko never learned any history.

I saw this when it was first released in the US and wanted to see how much I remembered (not much!). My reaction this time: positive but tempered. It's politically correct and perhaps the most valuable thing about it is its youthful energy and idealism. It's very much of its time. My favorite element is the music which is pop and contemporary but also very Greek. Also, the character played by Trintignant-- obviously central to the film-- keeps us wondering which side he's on. That's welcome because everyone else is good or bad, i.e., boring. One of the 2 main villains is a gay pederast. I don't mind gay villains now and then, but was startled by the gratuitously mean way it was handled. Political correctness has changed a bit.

I won't add anything regarding the films story as loads of other reviewers have done a better job than I could.All I will say is this film to me is designed like a funnel: From the start you have intense threads of action and discussion/consequences that slowly gather together and compress until the film is focused, charging towards the finish.Acting is fantastic - this film has a nervous energy and authenticity that is hard to match.When you watch it you realize you are not only seeing a great film, but also reliving an important slice of history.

Costa-Gavras's 1969 film Z, written by Jorge Semprun off a novel from Vasilis Vasilikos, is two important things. First, it's a scathing indictment of government inadequacy and police corruption, based on real events but socially relevant still in our current culture. Second, it's the evolution of the political thriller, a genre that has long been one of great adoration for me. The film details the assassination of Greek pacifist Gregoris Lambrakis (though the film takes fictional liberties and never directly names the majority of it's characters) and takes place in Europe, but coming at the end of a decade that saw the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, along with America being in the midst of the Vietnam War, it's themes of political mistrust and revolution are ones that were easily translated overseas.Political thrillers had been done before, including one of my personal favorite films The Manchurian Candidate, but Gavras was one of the first to take the genre, depict real events and turn the camera on the world at large and force it to take a look at itself. With a stunning mix of cinematic action sequences that had my heart racing and real-life consequences, Z set the bar for it's field to be judged by and it still remains at the very peak. The way that Gavras stages the whole thing is brilliant, constructing the pieces of this intricate plot like a symphony, making sure that he gets a note on each character while keeping the focus on the task at large. He knows where he is going to end up, but he also is fully aware of what important paths he must take in order to get there. It's an elaborate staging and one that could have easily overwhelmed it's director, but Gavras hits his marks with an unbelievable precision and authenticity that never gets too far ahead of it's viewer or leaves them cold.Everything is immaculately constructed and fully engaging. He makes sure that all of the parts are functioning properly, while simultaneously building to his ultimate goal. The first act is loaded with intensity, an uncomfortable feeling of paranoia and looming tragedy, as everyone prepares themselves for the rally to be led by Yves Montand's Lambrakis-proxy. There's a chilled, eerie feeling in the air, with several scenes of haunting, quiet tension all culminating in the rally itself which explodes with violent riots and protest, all while the police stand by and do nothing. The primary focus of the film then becomes a study of deconstructing the events that took place and figuring out who was responsible, through their actions and inaction. It's an endlessly intriguing web of trying to bring down the corrupt police and politicians, led with stern bluntness by the great Jean-Louis Trintignant, as the investigator who strives to bring the perpetrators to justice. The audience already knows what happened, so the film becomes this exploration of how it happened.Gavras wisely elects to focus on the case at hand, letting the political and societal ramifications unfold within the viewer themselves, instead of making the film become a left-wing preach of condemning the right. He doesn't focus himself on the politics of Montand's central character, but instead the corruption and indifference that plagues the government and military forces. It's a commentary and attack on the refusal to act by the people who we trust to be the ones to protect us and keep justice alive. With it's real-life themes and events, Gavras presents a biting attack on these men of power, but even without that he is able to make it an easily accessible and wildly compelling thriller. The mark of the best political thriller is one that succeeds even without it's politics. Gavras gives his audience the best of both worlds here, all building to a stunning conclusion that is bold, innovative and uncompromising in it's refusal to give us a happy ending.