At the time of release , '' Chicago Sun-Times '' film critic Roger Ebert , who named '' Z '' the best film of 1969 , liked the screenplay and its message , and wrote , " '' Z '' is a film of our time . It is about how even moral victories are corrupted . It will make you weep and will make you angry . It will tear your guts out ... When the Army junta staged its coup in 1967 , the right-wing generals and the police chief were cleared of all charges and ' rehabilitated . ' Those responsible for unmasking the assassination now became political criminals . These would seem to be completely political events , but the young director Costa-Gavras has told them in a style that is almost unbearably exciting . '' Z '' is at the same time a political cry of rage and a brilliant suspense thriller . It even ends in a chase : Not through the streets but through a maze of facts , alibis and official corruption . " In 2006 , James Berardinelli wrote , " '' Z '' was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras , but it is the movie that captured him to the world 's attention , winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar . It introduced the director 's signature approach of combining overt political messages with edge-of-the-seat tension . " Jonathan Richards wrote in 2009 , " It 's hard to overstate the impact that this Oscar-winning procedural thriller had in 1969 , on a world roiling in political activism , repression , and discord . In the U.S. , the Vietnam War was on the front burner , the populace was passionately engaged , and the police riots outside the '68 Chicago Democratic Convention and the murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton were raw wounds . With this stylish , intense indictment of the assassination of a leftist political leader by a right wing government cabal in his native Greece , director Costa-Gavras struck a nerve that resonated here and around the globe . " On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a 93 % " fresh " score based on 40 reviews , with an average rating of 8.2 / 10 . The site 's consensus states : " Powerfully effective , this anti-fascist political thriller stands out as both high-conscience melodrama and high-tempo action movie . " The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival
2015 Cannes Film Festival
2015 Cannes Film Festival
Z (1969 film)