Z

Z (1969) is Costa-Gavras' political thriller you can watch online on iFILM. Adapted from Vassilis Vassilikos' novel, it's loosely built on the killing of Greek deputy Grigoris Lambrakis.

A pacifist politician (Yves Montand) is struck down after a peace rally, and the police rush to file it as a freak traffic accident. An examining magistrate (Jean-Louis Trintignant) refuses to sign off. Interview by interview, he traces the threads to far-right thugs and, beyond them, to senior officials. A photojournalist (Jacques Perrin) chases the same evidence at his own peril. The closer the truth gets, the clearer it becomes that the cover-up runs through the police, the army and the government alike.

Costa-Gavras shoots it like a live wire: short percussive cuts, handheld documentary camera, not a wasted scene. The film took the Best Foreign Language Oscar and the Jury Prize at Cannes, and more or less invented the modern political-investigation genre. Essential viewing for anyone who wants a thriller with real fury behind it. Stream Z (1969) online on iFILM.