Costa-Gavras must have been the first director to think that it is not life that creates the best scenarios, it's politics. As a result, in 1969, with his film Z, he established a new genre of films that are politically engaged. Contrary to the mainstream Hollywood, Gavras' projects were supposed to force the audience to think independently and add to their knowledge.
His very first films (Z, Confession and State of Siege) constituted a trilogy that treated of dominant political ideologies at the time (extreme right-wing, communism, American imperialism).
So far I have only seen Z and State of Siege, both based on true stories.
Z portrays Greek political scene few years before the military coup d'état in 1967 and the assassination of the popular pacifist and left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis. It is an absolutely amazing story that induces doing some research about Greek post-war political background and its nuances.
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In State of Siege Gavras targets American 'neo-colonialism' while presenting the story of Dan Mitrione's abduction by the group of Uruguayan Tupamaros. Mr Mitrione was alleged of training local police how to torture people and fight the opposition. He was one of the US advisers designated to support country's development.
