"M" Is it worth the watch?

This is the first black-and-white film I’m reviewing. How exciting! I had no idea what this film was about, or what I should expect. This has become a repetitive theme in the last few movie reviews. I digress. The big points you need to know. This movie came out in 1931. It is in German. Wait! Don’t count it out yet! Just be ready to read the subtitles. Ok. You’ll live. At the start of the movie, we find out that eight children have been murdered, and the police don’t have any leads. With all the extra security, the various mobsters and gangs throughout Berlin team up to capture the murderer. This movie is a thriller with a TV-14 rating. Let’s dive into the good points. 

Engaging. Fast Paced. Suspenseful doesn’t feel like a strong enough word. Unhackneyed! I was happily surprised at the natural suspense added to the film by it being in black-and-white. With color being absent, it encouraged focus on what the characters were saying, doing, and how they were behaving. Whenever there was any mention of color, it felt innately important all of a sudden. Almost like the film was telling me, “Yes. You are missing key aspects of the case by not seeing the various shades of red, green, and blue. Anyways. You don’t need to know about all that just yet.” It kept me laser-focused listening for any colorful clues that I was missing. 

While the movie is TV-14, it doesn’t show any of the children’s murders. No morgues. No bloody crime scene. No gore at all. The cops, journalists, and mobsters do however allude to how gruesome the crimes are. It creates a space for the audience's minds to wander to the worst possible place creating another layer of suspense. This film relies on giving the audience the bare minimum, and I’ll give it to them. It worked. I was hooked within the first 15 minutes. After multiple failures trying to catch the murderer, the cops decide to take it up a notch. They begin raiding homes, businesses, and to the mob's dismay clubs. After the Crocodile Club is raided, the mob bosses decide they have had enough. 

Without the constraints of the law, the mob hires people experiencing homelessness to watch every single child in Berlin. The bosses assign each person a street to watch, encouraging them with a startlingly large cash reward. While the mobs are patrolling the streets, the cops focus on the meager bits of information they have on the culprit. Honestly, this was one of my favorite parts of the movie. There was an understood evil that every person agreed needed to be brought to justice. It creates an interesting conversation. What is something we all agree is evil: no matter who you are or what you do? 

When one of the guys drew an “M” on his hand in chalk, then patted the murderer on the back to mark him. GENIUS. It was so satisfying to see the mob capture him. In a plight for justice, they put him through a kind of trial. The room is filled with hundreds of people who all want the murderer to die. The leader of the mob does give the murderer a defense attorney. Justice is the goal, the means is a little more shaky. 

The mob argued that the man was evil and needed to die then and there. If he was able to go to trial, they did not want him to be able to plead insanity. They did not want him to have the opportunity to, at some point, earn amnesty and start killing again. While they explain their case to the murderer, he confidently rebukes them. He claims he can’t help himself. He has to murder and destroy to stop the voices in his head. After his confession, his lawyer steps in claiming the most just thing for the murderer is allowing him to acquire professional help. Who is right? Which is more just? The police step in right before the mob murders him. We never see the trial. We never see what happens to the murderer. The last scene is of a mother. A mother making a simple and devastating plea. The verdict won’t bring back the children. We all must keep a better watch. CHILLING. 

If you can’t tell already, let me make myself clear. I think this movie is worth the watch. The suspense is gripping, and it stirs interesting conversations. What is true justice? How do we find it? How do we protect the innocent? What means are too far when it comes to protecting those who can’t protect themselves? I would recommend watching this with friends during a brisk night in the fall, maybe near Halloween. It is devastating, beguiling, provocative, and totally worth your time. 

Photo from Wikipedia