Okay so I missed a blog yesterday, but I'm only human, right?

M (1931) - Fritz Lang

M, a German epic of mental illness and human nature, centers on a series of murders in Berlin, all the victims being young girls. The murderer isn't even shown until ten minutes into the movie, however the viewer identifies him with the tune 'In the hall of the mountain king' since he always whistles it when he finds a new victim. There are no real main characters in the film, unless you count the serial killer or Commissar Lohmann, the story is mostly told through phone calls at the police station or through the conversations of nameless citizens. A manhunt of biblical proportions begins, and citizens and ring leaders of an organized crime syndicate start their own manhunt. What ensues is incredible suspense. Not surprisingly, the murderer is captured, but not by the police, the crime syndicate gets him, and sets up a kangaroo court for him. He pleads guilty due to insanity, babbling about the voices in his head forcing him to do what he does, but the citizens and gangsters don't have a fair trial in mind. The police rush in at the last minute, but the murderer's sentence is left ambiguous.

A citizen confronts the murderer at the mock trial with a picture of a victim, his own deceased daughter.

Fritz Lang puts reflections to good use in M, we are assured the murderer is insane when he makes faces at himself in his mirror, and when he does the same in front of glass windows. This film was the first, and probably the best, psychological thriller to date. It's message is obvious: should we give those who are criminally insane the death penalty?