Costa-Gavras in the Midwest

This weekend, the Indiana University Cinema screens Costa-Gavras’s 1969 thriller Z as part of an ongoing series of films selected by the university’s president. Loosely inspired by the 1963 assassination of Greek left-wing activist Gregoris Lambrakis, this Oscar-winning classic stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as a magistrate investigating the death of an opposition leader (Yves Montand), which government officials claim was caused by a traffic accident at a demonstration. Deftly combining expressive verité cinematography by the late French New Wave icon Raoul Coutard with the propulsive rhythms of a Hollywood action film, Z is a landmark account of fascist oppression that remains chillingly relevant today.

For a closer look at the film, watch this interview with Costa-Gavras, and read Armond White’s liner notes for our release. Those in Bloomington can see Z on 35 mm this Sunday, which just so happens to be Trintignant’s eighty-sixth birthday.