One of Costa-Gavras's transformations of recent history into declamatory melodrama, for popular consumption -- this one suggested by the kidnap-killing of U.S. agent Dan Mitrione at the hands of Uruguayan terrorists. The method here seems to be an attempted balance, or ping-pong game, between the rigorous claustrophobia of The Confession and the lively detective-heroics of Z. The simplifications, the stock characters (intrepid reporter, bumptious bureaucrats), the congestion of automobiles, and the hammering of the message tend to chip away at the inherent strength of the subject matter. In one area, at least, a certain clouded complexity is achieved by casting Yves Montand's sympathetic Weltschmerz in the dual role of villain/victim. Written by Franco Solinas (Battle of Algiers). (1972) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.