Somewhere in the middle of Depeche Mode: M there’s a quote about technology and how, despite the access to advanced tech today, it’s the old school gear that feels more authentic. I’m paraphrasing, obviously, but that’s the gist of a statement that stuck with me through the rest of the film, partially because I agree with it, but mostly because I think that there’s more to it. Not only does vintage tech feel more authentic, but so does vintage content, y’know, the stuff we used to call art. I say that because the immediacy watching clip after clip of Depeche Mode’s concerts in your Instagram stories while the Momento Mori tour was happening does not compare to seeing M in the theater. Depeche Mode: M is a stellar concert film, one that I will confidently say is essential viewing for fans of the band.
Directed by Fernando Frías (I’m No Longer Here), M centers around performances from the Memento Mori tour filmed at three sold out shows at Foro Sol in Mexico City in 2023. Woven through the live footage are poems, essays and interviews about technology, death and Mexican culture. It’s really a film about the passage of time and perceptions of reality told through a series of massive Depeche Mode concerts.
I saw Depeche Mode: M on Tuesday night at downtown Los Angeles’ Alamo Drafthouse. It was not one of the IMAX screenings, but there was still a certain level of boundary-blurring depth to the images. There absolutely were times where it felt like I was at one of the concerts. Judging from the amount of people in the theater clapping after song performances, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that.
At the same time, however, there’s a lot in M to remind you that you aren’t at the concert. Footage shift from black-and-white to color. Images are distorted with static and pixelation effects. Vintage TVs and computers pop up on the screen. It’s all there to remind you that you’re watching a representation of reality, rather than reality itself, something that was widely understood by all but small children before constant access to a never-ending stream of media distorted our perception of life.
All of this seems pretty important to consider when talking about Depeche Mode, a band who has been around for some 45 years and whose Memento Mori album and tour was was their first following the sudden death of founding member Andy Fletcher. Depeche Mode has taken multiple generations of listeners from the dawn of the MTV era to the Internet age and they’ve managed to sustain their popularity in an age when the platforms that dictate whose voices are heard is demanding more and more from artists. As the camera gives a bird’s eye view of the massive Mexico City audience hoisting cell phones in the air the way people once did with lighters at concerts, you get the feeling that everything and nothing has changed. Meanwhile, on stage, the cameras catch Dave Gahan and Martin Gore from angles that reveal their age. That seems very intentional, given the themes of Momento Mori and M, and also pretty rebellious in a youth and nostalgia-obsessed timeline that tends to keep pop culture figures locked into a specific moment in time. In M, Depeche Mode is here to remind you that the 1980s and 1990s are long gone, even when they’re playing “Everything Counts” and “Enjoy the Silence.”
It’s also worth pointing out that, in M, you only hear from Gahan and Gore when they’re on stage. That too seems like a reaction against the current climate dominated by platforms that reward users to reveal more and more about oneself, to always be saying something. The approach works well as Gahan and Gore reveal a lot about Depeche Mode through their performance, while the fans, artists and academics who contributed to the film tie everything together.
What I appreciated most about the film is that you really need to see it in full. It’s not designed to be broken up into shareable bits of content. It’s a feature length piece of art that, if possible, should be seen in a theater or, otherwise, viewed at home, preferably with your phone hidden to avoid distractions.
I’m writing this hours after seeing Depeche Mode: M for the first time. Maybe my thoughts on it will change once I have a chance to watch it again because there’s a lot going on in it. One thing is for certain, though, and that is that I do need to watch this again because Depeche Mode: M is more than a concert film.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram or Bluesky for more updates.
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