The movie “M” (1931) by Fritz Lang in the context of the scientific, social and cultural life of Germany in the 20-30 - ies of the twentieth century

Abstract

The article deals with the specifics of the social, political and cultural life in the Weimar Republic at time of the making of Fritz Lang's movie “M”. While showing the connection between the historic events of the time and the ideas conveyed in the movie, the author rejects the traditional interpretation of “M” as a pamphlet reflecting the problems in Germany before the national socialists came to power. The cooperation of the police and the criminal elements making attempts to catch the maniac is considered to be a logical continuation of the spiritual unity of the upper and lower classes shown in Lang's “Metropolis” four years before. The movie was banned by the Nazis in 1934, which can be explained by the inappropriateness of such ideas in the society where criminal behaviour is associated with biological deficiency - the question of criminal liability of the mentally deficient raised in “M” loses its relevance for the same reason. © С.Н. Роман, 2022 In the first place the movie is analyzed from the perspective of the artistic evolution of the detective genre, caused by the gradual strengthening of the realistic tendencies in cinema and the weakening of the influence of expressionism on the artistic life in general and Lang's style in particular. A criminal act is no longer shown by Lang - as opposed to his earlier works - to be an act provoked by unexplainable mystical forces; now it receives psychological explanation. The rejection of romantic traditions typical of the German cinema of the twenties, the appeal to pseudo-documentary filming, the arrival of sound in cinema - all this leads to the simplification of visual imagery, later on a characteristic feature of the movies of the thirties. A special focus is made on Lang's application of suspense, which is the key to understanding the whole composition of the artwork and becomes an integral part of detective movies made popular by Alfred Hitchcock for dozens of years to come.