Z is a 1969 Algerian-French epic political thriller directed by Costa-Gavras, with a screenplay by Gavras and Jorge Semprún, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Vassilis Vassilikos. The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963. With its dark view of Greek politics, the film captures the director’s outrage about the junta that ruled Greece at the time of its making. View it in the crucial historical context of Operation Gladio and the Strategy of Tension which was occurring in Europe at the time the movie was being made.

The Best of Charles Burris