cinema history class: m

Session: Bring Your Own Movie Month, Week 2 (Ethan)
Movie: M (1931)
Directed by Fritz Lang

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A serial murderer is stalking Berlin and preying on children. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:

I have to admit that it seems odd that I used BYOM month to share an overproduced post-MTV-age  fluff story that's ultimately disposable (see blogpost here),  and then my kid -- my kid! -- followed it with this cinematic classic.* Of course, I liked Scott Pilgrim for the music. I think Ethan likes M because it's such an intense character study. He'd rather have a weak story with interesting characters than an interesting story with forgettable characters.

I have to admit that the part of M that most drew me in came near the end of the film. I was intrigued by the whole dynamic of Beckert being tried by a court made up of criminals, but being given a defense attorney who -- despite himself -- seemed to be making as good a case as he could for acquittal. And Beckert's argument was actually quite intriguing. He argued that, despite the heinousness of his crimes, he is not as evil as the criminals who have him on trial. They commit their crimes out of greed -- a compunction that they can control. His compunction is beyond his control, and therefore he has no choice in the matter. Make of the argument what you will, but it's an interesting point that raises all sorts of issues regarding the nature of temptation and sin.

But the buildup is where the action is. The suspenseful chase through the abandoned building is superb, and Peter Lorre's bug-eyes accentuate his deer-in-the-headlights mien. But the true artistry of the film is in the subtlety with which the child murders are portrayed. There's no blood or gore; there isn't even a moment when we know that a murder is taking place offscreen. We just know -- as we see a ball bouncing in the grass, and a balloon flying into the sky, that a little girl has died. And the simple shots of the distressed mother convey more horror and pathos than explicit gore could ever manage.

Sean, for his part, was disappointed that we were watching the English language version, with dubbing rather than the original German with subtitles. He therefore felt he couldn't adequately rate the movie based on the bastardized (my word, not his) version we saw.

Ratings:

Me: 9

Christina: 8.5

Keith: 9
Sean: No Rating

*Yeah, I had to throw in a reference to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to annoy Keith.

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