Z Showed The Greek People’s Outrage Towards Their Government
The 1969 Algerian-French thriller Z starring Jean-Louis Trintignant is based on the 1966 novel of the same name. It’s a fictionalized account of what happened in 1963 when democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis was assassinated. The film takes a satirical look at Greek politics and spotlights the people’s anger at Greece’s military dictatorship during that time period. The title of the film references a popular Greek protest slogan that means “he lives” and refers to Lambrakis. Critic Roger Ebert noted how the film demonstrated that even moral victories can be corrupt. It won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
