|
Actors: Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin
|
|
| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Z |
|---|
A minor but charismatic government official, "The Deputy" (Montand), is scheduled to speak at a rally against NATO and the bomb. The local authorities try unsuccessfully to shut the rally down. Violence threatens between peaceniks gathered to hear the speaker and right-wingers who turn out to be cozy with the military and police; in the bristling confusion, a thug clubs The Deputy and shatters his skull. He lingers a day or two, then dies in surgery. It was an assassination, although the military and political powers that be aren't particularly interested in identifying it as such. An Examining Magistrate (Trintignant) and a sneaky Photojournalist (Perrin) chip away at the truth, but the vast corruption surrounding them promises to bury it. This 1969 political thriller directed by Costa-Gavras is based on a novel by Vassilis Vassilikos about true events in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1963. Although the country and names are omitted (the film had to be shot in Algiers), the director makes his aims clear enough in a note: "Any resemblance to actual events, to persons living or dead . . . is DELIBERATE." Slow and confusing at first, the film gathers momentum and emotional force as it rolls.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
|
| Analysis of Z |
|---|
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Legal/Political Thriller?
Yes
Political Plotlets:
- investigating murder of politician(s)
- govt officials abusing power
Crime & Police Story?
Yes
Criminal enemy is...
- corrupt military
Legal Thriller Plotlets:
- military on trial
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
Age:
- 40's-50's
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- short/standard wavy (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Greek
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- average build (man)
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Greek
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- govt employee
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Specific kind of enemies?
- right wing dictatorship
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Greek
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- Bulging muscles
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Greece
City?
Yes
City:
- dangerous
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- non-gory references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
How many deaths in film?
- 1
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 (None)
Kind of violence:
- hand to hand
Unusual forms of death
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- French
Subtitles?
- Yes
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
Is this movie based on a
- book
|
| Most similar reviews by Gordonator ranking |
|---|
| Mercury Rising
starring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Chi McBride
|
| Anatomy of a Murder
starring James Stewart, Ben Gazzara, George C. Scott, Lee Remick
|
| Basic
starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Timothy Daly, Taye Diggs
|
| The Big Steal (1949)
starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Patric Knowles, Ramon Novarro
|
| Seven Days In May
starring Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Ava Gardner
|
|
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
|
