M (1931)
Dir: Fritz Lang Starring: Peter Lorre, Gustaf Grundgens, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos
RATING: **** / ****
[Before I start I should point out that I'm not absolutely sure which version I am commenting on - I suspect it was the recent Munich version]
In a seedy 1930s city Peter Lorre's child murderer picks off his victims by offering them balloons and candy. The authorities are powerless to stop him, and tension, mistrust and suspicion amongst the citizens are bubbling to the surface. Criminal gangs, threatened by the increased police presence determine that they will hunt down the perpetrator, whilst Otto Wernicke's homicide inspector follows up his own leads.
A mother waits in her apartment for her daughter to return from school but she never arrives. A little girl's ball bounces into view and stops. Her balloon is shown fluttering tangled against power lines. Lang conveys the essence of the horror of a subject familiar today, but what makes this a truly important film is the philosophical content: is Lorre's Hans Beckert a monster to be destroyed like an animal, or is the situation more complex: is a compulsive child murderer more or less culpable than a ruthless mafia boss who is free to do otherwise? Should we think in terms of treatment? Is he deserving of sympathy, or is he beneath contempt? Where does the legitimacy of punishment come from?
All power in the city is shown as corrupt and decadent: the well-fed homicide squad, the well dressed gangsters become one in their hunt for the killer. This moral equivalence is emphasised by a particularly effective sequence where the discussions of the two groups are intercut, Lang seemingly not impressed by the police. In scenes like this Lang evokes a grim and jaded image of a decaying and ineffectual system, and the panic ruling the place. In the film he shows no love for his home, and indeed left soon afterwards.
The killer is revealed early on, and with his wide eyes and child-like face seems grotesque but not the ultimate embodiment of evil. Beckert is a man who probably plays marbles with children when he is not abducting them, one character remarks. As he is tracked down and finally cornered his fear is palpable, making him the victim too of his terrible impulses.
In genre terms this is probably a police procedural, though it is also a gangster film. There is surprisingly little suspense as the net of criminals closes on Beckert: instead the more effective and truly shocking section of the film is the question of what the kangaroo court will do to him. I won't reveal the ending here, and I suppose I should point out that the ending will differ according to the version you see. There is no satisfactory conclusion however, in keeping with its subject-matter.
In many ways "M" is startlingly modern: Lang's direction would not feel out of place today, and the situation is not an alien one either. The terms of the debate are still the same, as the script he wrote with Thea von Harbou shows. All the familiar positions are laid out: the feelings of a city terrorised by the child-murderer (if Beckert is handed over to the police he will plead insanity, be placed in an asylum and possibly escape to kill again). A woman shouts that he cannot know how it feels to lose a child. The acting defence counsel argues that he is not responsible for his actions, and not even the state should be allowed to kill him. Gustaf Grundgens' underworld boss wants him "eliminated", since he has admitted that his behaviour is compulsive. The criminal fraternity sees a wide distinction between themselves and this "monster", though Schraenker has killed three men at least. Someone else says that, "Ill people are treated by doctors and not executioners".
By the end the issue is as unclear as ever, but Lang has succeeded in making us ask some unsettling questions. "M" is a disturbing film, as it was intended to be, but it also has great artistic qualities. If it were released today it would shock just as much, if not more, than when originally released. This is one of the most incredible films to have emerged out of inter-war Germany, and if you get the all too rare opportunity to see the movie take it.
**** / **** Copyright Alex Bryson (1998)
-- Alex Bryson
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