"He Is Alive" = Z

Z (1969)

NOTE: The title, which always mystified me, is explained by the movie poster in combined Greek and French no less, ZEI (Greek letters) Il ist vivant! are given an equivalency, ergo Z = He is alive!

Konstantinos Gavras, who goes by the pen name Costa-Gavras, made this 1969 political thriller to depict events in 1963 Greek politics when a political candidate was slain. Although a work of fiction and no mention of Greece is made, fans believe it is a highly accurate version of events as they happened.

The movie is made in French with English subtitles so non-French speakers will have to read along as well as follow the visual presentation.

A message film, Z takes a whack at the status quo right from the first. The opening credits are running while an Agriculture Secretary talks about blight on grape vines and the proper methods for pruning and eradicating the disease, giving the viewer to understand that this methodology also needs to be applied to people.

A big brassy-coated Generalissimo gets up and begins expounding a three step plan to do just that, and I can sense that the twilight zone conspiracy theorists who are paying attention are just squealing with glee and squirming in their seats with excitement as their wildest fantasies are realized: a vast RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY against the hard working modest socialist candidate that will represent the LITTLE PEOPLE! "Yes," - they say as they rub their hands with glee, "with a little imagination this can apply to America and maybe solve the Kennedy Assassination!" OK - now we return to your regularly scheduled film review...

The modest socialist candidate is a medical doctor - a selfless aid to humanity - played by international film star Yves Montand. The candidate is a model of achievement and he and his followers, who are staging a nuclear disarmament rally are contrasted with the thuggish Neanderthals of the opposition.

Z is nicely paced, taking its time to establish a good idea where they are driving before presenting the chain of events ending in the candidate's assassination at an ever increasing tempo until you are pinned back in your seat, except you want to perch on the edge, also.

I don't know much about the real story, but Costa-Gavras does his best to show you the establishment is against the candidate and supports the violence against him and his supporters. Even when the prosecutor gets to the bottom of the investigation, it goes against him - he is removed, witnesses die, and the murderers receive a light sentence. I guess we are supposed to be taken with the injustice of it all. In fact, a military junta known as "the colonels" took over Greece shortly after the pictured events occurred.

The movie is very high quality and the restoration has made it look as good as new. Of particular interest is the film editing which goes a long way to giving the movie its urgent quality. Lots of times the character's thoughts are expressed by the camera showing you his point of view, but it never lingers too long on any one thing. This is a job of editing that should be studied by filmmakers today as the way to do it. The actors really are not that important because no one character other than the prosecutor (Jean Louis Trintignant) is over emphasized - the overall story is the real star of the picture. The score by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis is excellent, also.

The DVD has been restored and has a pretty nice array of extras, including the original trailer which is highly interesting compared to most previews; examples of the restored footage vs. the original footage in several scenes; an interview with Director Costa-Gavras and the Author of the novel Vassilis Vassilikos, in French, with English subtitles, a full length commentary by Costa-Gavras, again in French, subtitled in English.

Other political thrillers I recommend include

The Manchurian Candidate

JFK

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups