M

Directed by Fritz Lang. Written by Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang and Egon Jacobson. Starring Peter Lorre (Hans Beckert/M),  Gustaf Gründgens (Schränker/Safe Cracker), and Otto Wernicke (Inspector Karl Lohmann).

Bottom line: M might as well stand for magnificent; this is one of the best movies ever made.
M begins with a group of children singing the following song: "Just you wait, it won't be long/ The man in black will soon be here/ With his cleaver's blade so true / He'll make mincemeat out of you!" Add German to my list of nationalities with creepy children. Japanese children and German children. They are either adorable or nightmarish.

Anyway, we watch as a mother is cleaning and preparing lunch. The camera cuts over to her young daughter who walks alone down the street playing with a ball. She tosses it against a bulletin board. It reads, "1000 Marks. Who is the murderer?" The shadow of a man (Peter Lorre) appears on the bulletin board. He says in a nasally voice, "That is a pretty ball you have. What is your name?" We cut back to the mother who glances up at the clock. Her daughter is late. The man, whistling "Hall of the Mountain King", buys her a balloon from a blind man. We cut back to the mother who calls out the window "Elsie! Elsie!" The camera jumps from a shot of an empty stair to an empty attic then to a patch of grass. Elsie's ball rolls out from behind a bush. The camera cuts to her balloon that is caught in power lines.

The introduction is an indication of how Fritz Lang is able to tell a story with film. Acting or cinematography drives some movies, but in M, the two harmonize. As soon as M asks Elsie for her name, we as the audience, think," Oh man..." Almost anticipating that thought, Lang cuts over to the mother. The worried look that she gives the clock is so simple and so basic but it perfectly captures the concern of a mother. The cinematography is incredibly precise. With just the first few frames of M's entrance as clearly defined shadow we understand the situation who he is and his intentions.

As soon as Elsie's murder reaches the papers, we watch the ensuing chaos and paranoia. A police officer arrests a man on a bus. The man says, "Oh come on! There is a child murderer on the loose and you are arresting a pick pocket?" A pedestrian over hears and says," The murderer?" Another yells," He's the murderer?!" All of the passersby become a mob. They knock over the police as they fight to get to the man. The mob mentality especially one charged with a desperate desire for justice is a recurring image. It is also one of the scariest parts about M. We see how destructive people become because of fear. Even though there is this child murderer on the loose, he becomes the least of one’s worries with the constant paranoia.

There are two types of narration. There is a direct voice over as a character explains something and then there is the type of establishment that integrates into the story. Really good films are able to smoothly show and tell the audience. In M, after the introduction, we listen to a phone call between the Police Chief Inspector and Mr. Secretary. The Inspector proceeds to explain what steps the investigation takes to track down M. The film shows us each thing that the inspector explains. He mentions, fingerprints, we watch someone compare different figure prints; he mentions how the police have investigated the crime scene, we watch their investigation. The images complement a natural conversation. The combination establishes how the police are baffled despite their best efforts. Even by the very nature of this conversation, that it is between two people, we can see the feelings of helplessness and frustration on an individual level.

Lang's best quality, however, is his sense of restraint. He knows when to use a song or a sound effect but, more importantly, he knows when not to. As an example, we can look to a scene where a group of people is chasing M down a street, nearly capturing him. Instead of having a fast-paced musical score, the sequence is in nearly silent. It is fascinating how something as simple as a moment of silence can alter the dynamic of a scene. It focuses our attention to the significance of the images unfolding on the screen. We gaze at his desperate attempts to avoid capture.

Lang is an incredible filmmaker. What makes things even more interesting is M's subject matter. You might this that it is the story of how a child murder is caught but it's much more complex. The plot develops and we watch the different criminal syndicates unite to catch the murderer. After all, with all this increased police activity, they can't conduct their business (read: commit crimes).

Eventually, the criminals catch M and bring him to the basement of an abandoned factory. The majority, no all, of the criminals want him to die. He pleads to be turned over to the police. "Why should we do that," asks the criminal leader, Safe Cracker, "so you can get off with an insanity plea and be taking care of by the State in an asylum until you are fit to be dismissed so you can continue to murder with impunity?" Safe Cracker says that they aren't without a sense of moral obligation. They will hold their own trial and will even provide M with a defense attorney.

"But I can't help it! I really can't...help it," M screams. A criminal stands up and says," We all know that one: 'Judge, I just can't help it.'" M slumps down onto the dirty floor with a harsh light beaming down on him from above. "Who are you? All of you. Criminals. Probably proud of it too...all of which it seems to me you could just as easily give up if you learned something useful or had jobs...But me? Can I do anything...about this fire, this agony, inside me!" Wherever he goes, he feels like he is shadowing himself and that he can't escape the ghosts of those he has hurt. "Except when I'm doing it...when I'm doing...then I wake up in front of a poster reading what I've done. I did that? Who would ever believe me?!"

The movie uses M's testimony to address the audience. Throughout the movie, we've been involved in both the police’s and the criminal’s plans. When met with frustration, we turned from the police to the criminals. Even though we may not sympathize with their motives, we want M stopped and the criminals’ willingness to go outside the law was the most effective strategy. M's cries for help make us question our own motives. Surely, we want some sort of closure if we are willing to sympathize with the criminal syndicates but where does that leave us? If we want him brought to "justice", what does “justice” mean? Do we want him executed? The film implicates us in the destructive hysteria and desperation shown throughout the film. We want him stopped, we don’t know who he is but we’ll allow nearly anything to put him out of commission.

Unfortunately, in much the same way as in the introduction, Lang anticipates this type of reaction. The police arrive at the scene and take M (and the rest of the criminals) into custody. The camera cuts over to a line of judges in a courtroom. Just as they are about to deliver the verdict, we cut to three grieving mothers. One looks into the camera and says, "This will not bring our children back. One has to keep closer watch over the children! All of you!" We do not get the satisfaction of knowing what happens to M.

M is certainly one of the best movies I've ever seen. Lang shows a mastery of film making technique. In a way, M's story may seem simple but it becomes a powerfully complex statement about crime and punishment. Lang plays with our natural emotional responses to implicate us in the terrifying and destructive hysteria caused by a murderer. You simply must see this movie.