M is a pioneering work in the film noir genre, with many gangster film techniques tracing their origins back to this movie. The film showcases advanced investigative methods of its time, such as fingerprint analysis, area searches, and note analysis. The story begins with the chilling revelation that several little girls have been murdered, and soon, the murderer emerges. While the characters in the film remain unaware of the killer's identity, the audience's attention shifts to the process of capturing him rather than identifying him.
When M is finally caught by the gangsters, the focus of the story shifts to the confrontation between the police and the gang, though this confrontation is portrayed in a single scene. The film reaches its climax in the last ten minutes with the gang's trial of M, elevating the narrative to new heights. One striking sequence depicts the simultaneous efforts of the gang and the police to arrest M. Through seamless time-space editing, the director implies that the gangsters and the police are similar in some ways. Although they operate in different realms, the editing creates an illusion of direct dialogue between the gang members and the police, emphasizing their parallel actions.
The pivotal moment of M's capture occurs when a blind balloon seller recognizes the whistling sound M frequently makes, leading the gang to apprehend him. This scenario offers a complex irony—M is caught by a blind man while the police, despite their extensive resources, come up empty-handed. The film's conclusion, voiced by the grieving mother of a murdered child, underscores the futility of such a trial. The director adds layers of ambiguity to the film's overall message through visual storytelling. Beyond M's self-justification, the final gang trial features numerous close-ups of enraged women. Their calls for M's execution and their furious expressions create a chilling atmosphere, offering multiple interpretations of the film.
