Am I insane in thinking that Costa-Gavras' "Z" is a comedy?

[NickGlass]

Well, inasmuch as most French New Wave films are comedies?

[NickGlass]

Er, let me elaborate on my pleasure-principle reading with some thoughts I wrote:

A vast majority of political thrillers are weighed down by didacticism and dreary, heavy-handed themes, which is why Costa-Gavras’ Z—a buoyant retelling of the bitter truths involved in a damaged democracy—is such a marvel. This 1969 Oscar winner (for Best Foreign Language Film and Editing) is nearly peerless in its prescience and style. Although the leanings are clearly one-sided, the filmmakers infuse the harsh realities of Z’s historical plot with human comedy. During its disorienting opening, unflinching in its cheeky cadence and metaphor-laden speeches, a disclaimer appears onscreen: “Any similarity to events or actual persons dead or alive is not accidental. It is deliberate.” Following an aesthetic that is most reminiscent of the clever, freewheeling style of the French New Wave (unsurprisingly, Z was shot by whimsical Godard/Truffaut collaborator Raoul Coutard), eschews pure cynicism in favor of exiting filmmaking.

Centering on the death of a leftist leader (French icon Yves Montand), who is based upon Greek liberal Gregoris Lambrakis, Costa-Gavras reveals the assassination with classical dramatic irony. The audience is aware of the murder, yet the murky politics beneath the incident become more and more insidious as details are teased out by Jean-Louis Trintignant’s reticent, yet sharp, judge. Z is initially driven by a disturbing, yet amusing, human incompetence but as backgrounds and conspiracies are revealed, the once feckless authorities devolve into sinister beings. The complex, yet accessible, structure gives the subject and characters room to breathe and expand without overshadowing the implicit statement. Even when the plot becomes slightly schematic, Z’s tone becomes almost sardonic. Costa-Gavras’ observant, tonally-dexterous direction blends perfectly with Coutard’s fey camerawork and François Bonnot’s kinetic editing.

The violence in the film, most often depicted in scrappy riot sequences, is goofy but also eerily realistic. Its chaos is wholly inspired. Without ever becoming incongruous or inappropriate, Z turns democratic disillusion into a riveting epic of the human condition. The phrase “lithe and fierce…like a tiger” leads to the—unfortunately only momentary—downfall of corrupt authority, yet, rather ironically, it is these exact qualities that make Z such a fresh, surprising cinematic experience nearly 40 years after its initial release.

[Mysterious Dude]

I think real violence often looks "funny" compared to movie violence. I think it's in the way people move. They don't necessarily ball their hands into perfect fists or punch people square in the jaw. In most movies, everything is carefully choreographed so as not to make the actors look silly, but people aren't so careful in real life. Z captures that kind of real-life violence quite well.

[megladon8]

This is violence. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovBICKDlU3M)

[NickGlass]

I think real violence often looks "funny" compared to movie violence. I think it's in the way people move. They don't necessarily ball their hands into perfect fists or punch people square in the jaw. In most movies, everything is carefully choreographed so as not to make the actors look silly, but people aren't so careful in real life. Z captures that kind of real-life violence quite well.

Yes, yes, I'm aware of that. It's not the violence in particular that led me to find humor in the scenario (as I wrote, the scrappy violence is "goofy, yet eerily realistic"), but the general tone created by the easy-going camerawork, sharp editing, and occasionally over-the-top writing.

Really, I'm just most curious if anyone has ever felt a similar vibe, or I was simply in a wacky mood when I watched it. I could easily make the same case for Bergman's The Seventh Seal, although I believe the comedy in that is rather obvious to all.

[Watashi]

I don't think The Seventh Seal is a comedy at all.

Satire, maybe, but not comedy.

[Sycophant]

"A comedy" may not be how I'd describe The Seventh Seal, but there were certainly is comedy in the film. I laughed quite a bit.

[Qrazy]

Yeah The Seventh Seal isn't a comedy. Although it has humorous moments in a similar way as Tarr's films (Damnation, Werckmeister Harmonies, Satantango) do.

[NickGlass]

I don't think The Seventh Seal is a comedy at all.

Satire, maybe, but not comedy.

Let's put the semantics aside and agree it's full of wit.

[Qrazy]

Let's put the semantics aside and agree it's full of wit.

I think there's a difference between saying something has humor and that it is a comedy. It speaks to the general intentions of the film. And in the case of The Seventh Seal I find nothing funny about the film's ending.

[Beau]

Yeah The Seventh Seal isn't a comedy. Although it has humorous moments in a similar way as Tarr's films (Damnation, Werckmeister Harmonies, Satantango) do.

I kind of agree, but would argue The Seventh Seal is more, I don't know, whimsical, not quite as oppressive as Tarr, though both are not exactly mood-uppers.

[Izzy Black]

Tarr is grotesque and blackly comedic. The Seventh Seal has some comedic moments, but the death metaphor is intended to be contemplative, absurdist, and ironic, though I would not say satirical - as it does not strike me as necessarily critical. The conclusion is not particularly funny, either.

[Grouchy]

The Seventh Seal has comic relief moments. That doesn't make it a comedy.

I haven't seen Z but it sounds interesting.

[megladon8]

Jen and I are considering going to see this one.

[NickGlass]

Jen and I are considering going to see this one.

Well, I recommend it (http://www.filmforum.org/films/z.html) (it's not often I get quoted on posters, since my reviews are, um, seldom very positive).

[DavidSeven]

Well, I recommend it (http://www.filmforum.org/films/z.html) (it's not often I get quoted on posters, since my reviews are, um, seldom very positive).

Do they ask your permission before they pluck three random words from your review, add exclamation marks wherever they please, and package it into a neat, little statement? It's funny how all those words aren't necessarily used as general descriptors for the film in your review (though it doesn't seem like you would object to them being used that way).

At least you're in good company up there.

[Boner M]

I was quoted on the Aussie VHS cover for Super Troopers when I was 15... they tooks the words "prank, pratfalls and mayhem" from my plot summary and that was it.

Of course, it was the most exciting thing ever for me at that age.

[Watashi]

I was quoted on the Aussie VHS cover for Super Troopers when I was 15... they tooks the words "prank, pratfalls and mayhem" from my plot summary and that was it.

Of course, it was the most exciting thing ever for me at that age.

And it still is.

[Winston*]

And it still is.

Pssh. He met me that one time.

[NickGlass]

Do they ask your permission before they pluck three random words from your review, add exclamation marks wherever they please, and package it into a neat, little statement? It's funny how all those words aren't necessarily used as general descriptors for the film in your review (though it doesn't seem like you would object to them being used that way).

At least you're in good company up there.

They do not ask permission, but it's generally known that if you attend the press screening, the marketers will browse your article for anything they can pull. I've written negative reviews for quite a few Film Forum features, and in that case I was rightly not quoted. Usually the Film Forum is pretty good about that sort of thing; they may still care about aesthetics, but they don't manipulate language to make a critical review sound positive....even though Keith Uhlich's full review for Time Out New York isn't very glowing at all.

I don't mind in this case, of course, since they have a lengthier quote at the bottom which actually expounds on my thoughts on the film. Plus, they provide links to all the reviews they quote, which is smart.