Reflexion sur la politique et la justice :

Costa-Gavras chronicles the overthrow of the democratic government in Greece. When a liberal politician is murdered in an attack during a peace demonstration, the right wing established figures in the military and the police try to hide not only their parts in it, but try to cover up the murder as well. The prosecutor must act as a detective in order to go through the cover up. While historically accurate, it is told as a combination mystery and thriller. The location of the action is never expressly stated (filming took place primarily in Algiers), but there are hints (such as a Greek typewriter) that it is Greece in the early 1960s. Furthermore, in the opening credits there is a counter-disclaimer which reads (in translation): "Any resemblance to real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental, It is DELIBERATE." [Z comes from the Greek verb zei, HE LIVES}