Review of Z (1969) by Devon B — 15 May 2012
"Z" is a film of the sixties, even more so perhaps than "Woodstock". The film shows what the effects of public protest can have on the established government, in particular, the paranoid, thug-like behavior of bullies when threatened.
"Z" stands for "he lives", and the "he" in this case is The Deputy, or The Doctor, a dynamic leader of the leftwing party. He's coming to town to give a speech on nuclear disarmament and the right wing Junta is conspiring to shut him up.
They do so with the help of hired goons wielding truncheons who disrupt the meeting, first by inciting the crowd to riot, then by beating up anyone who even looks like The Deputy. The police are there for crowd control, but they stand by stone-faced as blood is spilled.
Only two newspaper reporters and an investigating magistrate are interested in getting to the truth of what happened at the rally, everyone else seems to only want to cover it up. As I said before, this is a film of the sixties, where the student protestor's paranoia was usually justified, and those in power were terrified to the point of doing cowardly and unspeakable acts.
Where long hair and rock-n-roll was not just a matter of taste but a threat to the very existence of their way of life. Under these conditions of butting heads and idealogies, where one side pushes, and the other side must push back, there will be victims of injustice.
Z is a film about that injustice and it makes no bones about it.
This review of Z (1969) was written by Devon B on 15 May 2012.
Z has generally received very positive reviews.
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