M by Fritz Lang

Review on M by Fritz Lang

Plot summary

There have been a rash of child abductions and murders in Berlin. The murderer lures the children into his confidence by candy and other such child friendly items. Everyone is on edge because the murderer has not been caught. The most substantial pieces of evidence the police have are hand written letters by the murderer which he sent to the newspaper for publication. Unknown even to himself, a blind beggar, who sold the murderer a balloon for one of the child victims, may have key information as to the murderer's identity.

The murder squad's work is made even more difficult with the large number of tips they receive from the paranoid public, who are quick to accuse anyone of suspicious activity solely for their own piece of mind that someone - anyone - is apprehended for the heinous crimes. Conversely, many want to take the case into their own hands, including the town's leading criminals since the increased police presence has placed a strain on their ability to conduct criminal activity. Although they both have the same end goal of capturing the murderer, the police and the criminals seem to be working at cross purposes, which may provide an edge to the murderer in getting away.

The murderer has been marked

Review

An amazing archive on the story of a serial killer. The film clearly reflects the human fear of pedophile murders and the effects of it which turns a crowd to an angry mob in minutes.

The realistic portraying of working class people helps the audience identify with the characters. The worrying mums face builds more tension in the viewers because they imagine themselves being in the same situation. Most events happen off-screen rather than showing the actual murder to the audience. The frequent use of empty shots and emphasis on shadows let the viewers imagine the rest.

 The opening of the film is brilliant in anticipation and foreshadowing the cruelty of the events. The children of the house sing a mockery version of the usally harmless eenie-minie-monnie-moe, such as:

Children: [singing]
‘ 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!’

which reflects how topsy-turvy the story is.

 Although the murder is unknown for a long time there is one detail that makes him clearly recognisable: his whistle. This is how a serial killer gets identified by a blind old man. This tune, Hall of the Mountain King is a very interesting choice of music. It is not only known from the Peer Gynt opera by the 19th century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, but also had been reused since by such iconic bands as The Who. More gothic, horrifying interpretations were made by  Apocalyptica and Trent Reznor. Maybe the most well-known is an a capella version in Social Network. This tune has melted together with malevolence, despair and disappointment.

But ‘M’ is not only the story of a murderer, but the story of the victims as well. The victims, in the sense of the mothers and fathers who have to live on after losing their children. That strong anger and bitterness, which makes average citizens bloodthirsty revengers. The film shows how easily people can carried away towards the extreme, which is a basic element of many modern waves of fanatism such as fascism and nazism. This view became the biggest threat in the 20th century Europe, the one that hates and destroys by its own judgement, not the law. Towards the climax the audience starts to feel like it becomes harder to decide who is really the monster: the murderer or the crowd? We, as we are part of a crowd, even associate ourselves with them and ask questions: would you kill him? Would I kill him?