December 8, 1969. Had the term docu-drama been invented by 1969? Probably not. In any case that is too weak a term for this great movie directed by Costa-Gavras, based on a political assassination that overturned the government of Greece. The sense of realism is increased by a clever trick: most of the characters are unnamed. They are simply the journalist, the general, the prosecutor. It gives the impression that these are real people, not being named for legal reasons.
For most of the movie we follow the prosecutor as he investigates what he has been told is an accidental death, and we watch his faith in the given narrative collapse, forcing him to choose between his principles and his career.
It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and the Edgar for Best Movie. And I rewatch it every few years.
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