Fritz Lang's M

I managed to keep the schedule and watched M yesterday, and I loved it even more than I did the first time. Made in 1931, M was the first german "talkie" film, and possibly Fritz Lang's best work. Peter Lorre, who classic movie lovers probably know from Casablanca, gives a superlative acting performance that really carries the film at the end.

I have been struggling with how to write a review for this film. It is a German film made in 1931, so it is dated. It is subtitled, and a lot of people don't like watching films with subtitles. So if I say the movie is great, people might get the wrong impression. This is not a modern film. It doesn't have the cinematography that we are all used to today. It doesn't have a stirring soundtrack, though it does use sound in a way that even today seems a bit unique.

So I won't review it. It's one of those movies you just have to see for yourself. Instead, I'll just summarize it. If this doesn't motivate you to see it, then nothing will.

M is a movie about a serial killer and rapist of children, set in Germany circa 1931. After months of children being taken, people are starting to become paranoid, and begin accusing each other. The police are under a tremendous amount of stress and start cracking down hard on all criminals. The "civilized" criminals find this bad for business, so they decide to try and track down this killer themselves. Most of the movie is a psychological procedural. Everything you've seen in Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, Kiss the Girls, etc., it all started here. There are even fingerprints. It also features a minor, yet detailed caper, so everything you've seen in films like The Heist, The Score, and various other organized crime heists, they all started here. Fritz Lang was a Jew in the 1930s, and this film reflects that. It was banned in Germany after it came out, and if you see it, and you know how the Nazis dressed, you'll know why. In the last 15 minutes, though, the film shifts gears, and it becomes a morality play. And, unlike the vast majority of films, it doesn't really take any sides; it just shows all of them clearly. Indeed, my husband said after watching it with me last night that the movie was, "very thorough."

Watching M 78 years after it was released is a wonderful experience. I guarantee that if you watch you will be shocked it's that old. There is more symbolism and mythology packed into this movie than two or three Hollywood movies released today combined.

More than anything, though, M is just entertaining. It's a little old, which means the sound is something we're not used to, but M is a genuine thriller.