M (1931)

M

Call No: TEMP 869

Note: German film, English subtitles.

I took M out of the library three times before I finally made time to sit down and watch it. I have the terrible habit of doing that with movies. I’ll find a movie that interests me, I’ll get it, and I’ll find other things to do instead of watching it. Yesterday I finally decided to sit down and watch it, and I was very glad that I did. It wasn’t for lack of interest – the plot was intriguing enough for me to keep going back for it. It was the fact that I was finally presented with a Sunday afternoon where I didn’t have an assignment pressing on me or something that needed to be done. Once it finished, I nearly started it over again.

M is the story about a child-murderer that is tormenting a German city. Parents are terrified for their children. The police are cracking down on every bit of crime in the city. And the criminals in the city trying to conduct their business are getting annoyed with the constant interruptions from the law. The top five criminals meet, each representing their area of expertise, and decide to team up and find the child-murderer. With how angry they are, the child-murderer better hope the police find him first.

I wasn’t sure what kind of film this was going to be in terms of genre. It has its moments of sadness, mystery and intrigue. I was surprised to find more than a little bit of comedy in the film, something that I didn’t expect from the premise. The most entertaining aspect of the film, in which the majority of the comedy is found, comes from the criminals who decide to go after the child-murderer. These are not your typical criminals. These are businessmen. And better still, they all appear to be unionized. The thieves have their union, the card sharks have their union, and the safecrackers have their union. Even the homeless have unionized. (It reminds me of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, in which every kind of criminal and mythological creature has their own guild that they meet with and answer to). With this set-up, it makes logical sense for them to go after the child-murderer. The manpower they have at their disposal is tremendous. It makes for a fascinating film.

Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert, on the run from police and criminals alike.

The film also does an excellent job of getting you involved in the story. We meet a little girl at the beginning of the film, and it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable happens. We don’t see the act itself, but we know this isn’t the first time it has happened. We’re told that there have been other children taken. The police discuss the details of the case, but won’t say anything about the children, only that “we all know how we found the children”. We’re left to determine how terrible this man is, how much damage he’s done. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself conflicted at the end of the film as to what the child-murderer’s sentence should be. The answer isn’t as simple as you may think it should be.

I discovered that this film is available on YouTube (something to do with the expiration of licensing), and found that one thing that seemed to stay with everyone who commented was referred to as “the whistling”. I didn’t know what they were talking about until I saw the film, and understood immediately. It must have affected my housemate too, because she turned to look at me after the film.

“If you whistle that tune when we’re walking around the mall,” she said, “I will be seriously creeped out.”

It’s amazing what the power of movies can do. This film is no exception. Watch it.