ET 9: M Analysis

         ‘M’ by Fritz Lang had one of the most intriguing beginnings compared to the past black and white films shown in class and the first 10 minutes of the film told a story on it’s own and ‘it shows rather than tells’(adprosebud.com).  The audience is brought into this world through the many elements that are in the film.

          The first few minutes start with a very important non diagetic element; which is the image of a hand marked with the letter M. From the very start, unconsciously, the image of M is already implanted into the mind of the audience, and Lang brings back the memory of this image later on in the film when the murderer is marked. The film the moves on to the first diagetic element and it’s through sound, where we first hear instead of see a little girl singing a poem and then we see a group of children playing. This is later followed by an older woman reprimanding the little girl for singing the ‘cursed’ song. Now, this in itself, brings the audience into a state of curiosity as to why the song is cursed. They later find out when Elsie’s mother says that ‘at least we know their still there’, that the song must be linked to someone threatening the children’s safety. I would say that this is an important part of the plot as the audience is introduced to the mindsets of the normal working class women, who are mothers that worry for their children.

         Next, the narrative structure of M is one that is realistic as well as expressionistic. Realistic because child murders and the anxiety that parents face can be very much linked to what happens in today’s age. The montage is very expressionistic as the film then jumps to the image of the clock on the wall signifying that school- Gemeine Schule has ended and her Elsie would be returning home. This image of the clock and the time passing cross cuts with the mother’s action of preparing for her daughters arrival and cross cuts to Elsie innocently bouncing her ball as she walks down the street. These 3 scenes- clock, mother and Elsie is shown repeatedly to create the suspense and the audience already knows that Elsie wont be returning. The ball plays an important role but the audience don’t notice it until later on.  Elsie then bounces her ball against a pillar, as the camera moves upwards showing a poster regarding the child murderer. The murderer is then introduced only by his shadow and voice, and this create curiosity, suspense and sympathy in the audience. Lang used a combination of sound and shadows as a very important element in creating drama.

        The montage is brilliant. Right after M asks Elsie for her name, the scene cross cuts back to the clock and then to her mother with a worried look as her child is still not home. Lang used stairs filled with silence to create this never ending wait for her daughter’s return and it is amplified when the mother looks down the long flight of stairs that appear dream like to a certain extent. It shows how far and long winded the steps are and as she calls out to Elsie from above, it signifies how Elsie would never be able to respond to it.  This then cross cuts to M buying Elsie a balloon and the audience can hear him whistle a tune. This tune becomes a very important motif- one that would get him caught. In a way, from the start, Lang prepares the audience indirectly for the ending.  The climax point would be when, the music starts to build up as Elsie’s mother starts to scream out to her from the stairs, to the window and then after the noise, pure silence hits. Mise-en-scene shown through montage where the ball rolls out from the bush is an example of an inferred event- that little Elsie has been killed. We see all the places that her mother may have went to look for her, the laundry area, and the empty chair, we also see the balloon flying away. The ball and balloon could signify the innocence, purity and joy of a child, and watching the items float and roll away would mean that it has all ended for Elsie.

             All in all, Lang paid a lot of focus to the symmetry between sound and silence. M is a film that uses a lot of elements that manages to bring the audience in through the emotions they feel and the first 10 minutes prepares and creates the suspense needed in the audience for the rest of the show.