Two years ago, in New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center, British new wave band Depeche Mode played a sold-out concert. The venue was one of many to host the band for their worldwide Memento Mori tour. Their Mexico City gig at the Estadio GNP Seguros on Sept. 23, 2023 — the first of the tour’s third leg — is the focus of Mexican filmmaker Fernando Frías’ limited release film, “Depeche Mode: M.”
Full of the band’s signature mix of sorrow and joy, “Memento Mori” is Depeche Mode’s fifteenth studio album. The Latin phrase translates to “remember you must die.” Created during the pandemic, the album and its melancholic content have taken on new meaning following the death of the band’s longtime keyboardist, Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher, in 2022.
The arrangement of “Depeche Mode: M” faithfully captures the band’s energy. Spanish-language monologues of Mexican natives are personal and emotional. Their voices overlay scenes of nature and media, ranging from hazy rivers to box televisions. These moments punctuate the onstage flamboyance of lead singer Dave Gahan and songwriter Martin Gore.
The cinematography emphasizes the friendship between Gahan and Gore. As drummer Christian Eigner builds up to the end of “Enjoy the Silence” — from the band’s 1990 album, “Violator” — Gore and Gahan smile and dance to the beat. In the theatre, viewers burst out in laughter.
Mixing sorrow and joy, Gahan and Gore celebrate the life of Fletcher during “World In My Eyes.” The camera sweeps above the concert floor, revealing fans holding copies of Fletcher’s portrait. Facing the stage again, the camera widens to show large screens with the same black-and-white photo of Fletcher.
Special effects also intensify the emotional experience. One Mexican interviewee describes death as “the blending of bodies.” Early on, black-and-white, stroboscopic flashes entangle Gahan and Gore. The band also uses colors to reflect emotional states, such as the use of red to evoke lust during the performance of “Stripped” from the 1986 album “Black Celebration.”
Visual artist Joshua Ellingson created the film’s special effects. To achieve Pepper’s ghost effect, Ellingson uses television sets and glass domes to reflect “an image of an object off-stage so that it appears to be in front of the audience.” As Gore sings the uplifting song “Home” — from 1997’s “Ultra” — Ellingson’s visual effects make him appear as though he is passing through glass domes in a dark void. In reality, he is performing in front of thousands of people.
The ghost effect fits the Memento Mori album, as its lead single is titled “Ghosts Again.” Gahan described this song as “the perfect balance of melancholy and joy.” At the end of “Depeche Mode: M,” an unidentified Mexican narrator defines the afterlife as the memory that others have of us.
“Depeche Mode: M” and its concert recording “Memento Mori: Mexico City” will be released worldwide on Dec. 5. Remembering that you must die, don’t forget to check them out before you go.