M is for marvelous

M (Murders Among Us) (1931) is a German film with subtitles that has been restored by Criterion so you know it's "GREAT" and you have a fifty-fifty chance of it boring you to death.  Luckily for me, I am here, which means I survived.  Criterion tends to pick very arty-dialogue heavy movies that are lost on all but the MENSA cinema fans.  I love movies and have watched a shit load of them but the Criterion label turns me off because of the number of times I've been bored sitting through one of their picks. 

M is a fantastic movie starring a very young and pre-Hollywood Peter Lorre.  If you don't know who Peter Lorre is, SHAME ON YOU!!!  He's the villian from "Arsenic and Old Lace" and was in "Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca," among others.  He's a fantastic actor with large round expressive eyes and a bit of a doughy face.  If you grew up with Warner Brother cartooons, you've seen him.  Anyways, M is the story of a child killer played by Lorre who is terrozing the town.  The cops and local crime syndicate are both looking for him, the cops because that's their jobs, and the criminals because pissed off cops are hurting their bottom line. 

It's a fantastic and well shot movie.  Some knowledge of cinema helps as Fritz Lang's directing was revolutionary at the time and in order to be amazed, a history lesson helps, but it isn't needed.  Lange seemlessly goes back and forth between the cops and the criminals, juxtaposing their organizations and making statements about truth, society, and justice, all the while telling a gripping and fantastically acted movie.  Few movies today or ever have flawlessly told a movie that addressed major human themes without getting bogged down in them or letting the storytelling lapse.  Lange accomplishes this beautifully.  Everything from the plotting and pacing to his slow reveal of the killers face to the finale where Lorre gives one of the performances ever as a killer.  M is meant to be seen by all, not just lovers of cinema becaue while the movie appeals to their upturned noses, it also appeals to people looking for a great story.