M

M is an art film that explores the relationship between sexuality and death. These two appear to be opposite forces, but in fact they merge in all of us, disguising the fear of death or the desire to die, the world of Eros and Thanatos. In the film the character M, inspired by Marilyn Monroe, is a symbol of this interpenetration. The actress’s death is as famous as her sexuality and thus sets a perfect example of how the ancient bond between sex and death is being forever mystified and exploited by the popular culture.

M as Marilyn: an emblem of a mystery, of an essence. The feminine one, that drags Eros and Thanatos with herself and forever. M is an abstraction, a vision, a stream of consciousness and the unconscious. The first work of a wide-ranging artist, the Finnish Anna Eriksson throws herself – both body and soul – into her ‘obsession’. This film shot between Portugal, Mexico and Finland is a timeless journey without events that involves Eriksson as a protagonist, director, producer, screenwriter, editor, costume designer, set designer, music authoress… The result is pulsating photography, a visual of mellow details, full of buds and hallucinations, of alienating environmental and naturalistic geometries which refer to Alain Resnais. It evokes also Lynchian references, without falling into a sterile imitation. Let yourself be cradled-and-shaken by M and the universal ambivalence of life and death: this is what Anna Eriksson asks.

Maria Cera

About the Director

Anna Eriksson was born April 22, 1977 in Rauma, Finland. Because of her father’s job, Anna spent most of her childhood and teenage years traveling around the world. The family lived in India, Tanzania and Saudi-Arabia. Anna studied music from early on, concentrating in singing. After graduating college she recorded her first album, which instantly became a huge success in Finland. She has recorded ten albums, writing and producing the last four of them herself. Anna has won many awards, including two Emma prizes (the Finnish Grammy), and for her 2012 album MANA she received the Teosto prize, which is one of the biggest art prizes in the Nordic countries. In 2013 Anna put her musical career on hold and began working on her first feature film M. M premiered at 33rd Venice International Film Critics Week in 2018.