Z: 'Any resemblance of real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental. It is DELIBERATE'

From Costa-Gavras' politically charged 'Z' by Susan King :

In the late 1960s, Costa-Gavras couldn't persuade any French producer or distributor to make his political thriller "Z," which went on to win the Oscar for the best foreign language film of 1969.

"It was an unusual movie," says the 76-year-old filmmaker, born in Greece as Konstantinos Gavras. "There was no love story and there were several characters going through it. It was difficult to explain. I remember even an important producer said to me, 'I will film the telephone book, but not that story.' "

"Z," which opens today at the Nuart with a new print and a new translation for its 40th anniversary, is a thinly veiled, dramatized account of the assassination of liberal Greek politician Gregoris Lambrakis in 1963. The opening credits of the film, which is based on a book by Vassilis Vassilikos, even feature a most unusual disclaimer: "Any resemblance of real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental. It is DELIBERATE."

The closing credits, meanwhile, list everything that had been banned in Greece after a 1967 military coup, including long hair on men, the Beatles, Mark Twain, modern and popular music and the letter "Z," which was a symbolic reminder that the spirit of Lambrakis and resistance still lived in the country.

Yves Montand, who appeared in Costa-Gavras' first feature film, 1965's "The Sleeping Car Murders," plays the politician, Irene Papas is his wife and Jean-Louis Trintignant is the magistrate assigned to investigate the death.

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The success of the film took Costa-Gavras by surprise. "Especially the American success," he says. "French movies had a small audience [in the U.S], but when the movie opened here it very quickly started to have a huge success. It was extraordinary for us."

Since then, Costa-Gavras has continued to challenge and provoke movie audiences with his politically themed films, including "State of Siege" and his first American movie, "Missing," for which he won an Oscar for adapted screenplay.

Costa-Gavras will also be honored April 23 at the City of Lights City of Angels film festival at the Directors Guild of America building. "The Sleeping Car Murders" will be screened in the afternoon, followed by a one-hour discussion with the director, capped off with the West Coast premiere of his latest film, "Eden Is West," about a young man emigrating from an undisclosed country in the Mediterranean to Paris.

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