Review of M (1931) by Anne F — 17 Nov 2008
A great film on so many different levels. This is the hunt for a prolific child killer, who is sought by both the police and the criminal underworld. The latter resent the increased attentions their own activities receive from the police, and believe that they are a better class of criminal. Lang uses some very innovative visual and sound effects - I found the parallel editing of two scenes (about 40 minutes in) stunningly effective. We don't see a child's body, a child's murder or even find out how the little girl's are being killed, and this unknown helps make the film very frightening - what we imagine is worse than seeing something filmed that we know isn't real.
It was interesting to read that the Nazis banned the film even though the villain was played by a Jewish actor. I found the following lines very poignant in view of what would happen in Germany and the countries they would occupy in the years after the making of this film "...it never occurs to the masses that what happens to even the poorest or most unknown child on the street is a matter for everyone's conscience...".
This review of M (1931) was written by Anne F on 17 Nov 2008.
M has generally received very positive reviews.
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