M / Μ-Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder

Germany – 1931 – B&W – 107’

Dir.: Fritz Lang | Scr.: Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou | Cin.: Fritz Arno Wagner | Ed.: Paul Falkenberg | Cast: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke, Gustav Gründgens, Theo Lingen | Prod.: Seymour Nebenzahl

Berlin, early 1930s. A psychopathic child murderer remains at large, spreading fear and death. While the police intensify their fruitless efforts, the criminal underworld -disrupted by their constant presence, which hinders its own “operations”- decides to take matters into its own hands.

Lang’s first sound film -and his self-proclaimed magnum opus-, this masterful psychological thriller stands out for its groundbreaking, intelligent direction and haunting atmosphere - shadows, smoke, uncanny figures- where sound is used to amplify mood rather than serve dialogue. The murderer’s chilling whistle (a motif from a composition by Edvard Grieg) before he attacks his victims remains eerily etched in memory, as do his bulging eyes. Peter Lorre’s performance is outstanding. Inspired by real events -the infamous “Monster of Düsseldorf”- the story can also be read as a dark allegory of the rising Nazism that would annihilate countless innocents.