{"id":73680,"date":"2021-07-08T12:12:24","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T19:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=73680"},"modified":"2021-07-08T12:12:24","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T19:12:24","slug":"crime-de-monsieur-lange-le-crime-of-monsieur-lange-the-1935","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=73680","title":{"rendered":"Crime de Monsieur Lange, Le\/Crime of Monsieur Lange, The (1935)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You have the eyes of a child.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster-207x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-73681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster-207x300.png 207w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster-707x1024.png 707w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster-88x128.png 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster-186x270.png 186w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Poster.png 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a womanizing publisher (Jules Berry) is killed in a train accident, the people he left behind &#8212; including a writer (Rene Lefevre) and his wife (Florelle), as well as an impregnated seamstress (Nadia Sibirskaia) and her understanding boyfriend (Maurice Baquet) &#8212; form a collective to run Berry&#8217;s company from a more collaborative and financially feasible stance.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>French Films<\/li>\n<li>Jean Renoir Films<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Womanizers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary writes, &#8220;Jean Renoir&#8217;s first popular success has long been overlooked by those quick to champion <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10009\"><em>Grand Illusion<\/em><\/a> and <em>The Rules of the Game<\/em>&#8221; &#8212; however, he argues that &#8220;this is Renoir at his best,&#8221; providing &#8220;a marvelously moving, beautifully directed and acted celebration of romance, brotherhood, art, life, and the <em>common<\/em> French men and women who are guided by their hearts.&#8221; He writes that the title character, Monsieur Lange (Lefevre), &#8220;is a gentle, passive, low-paid worker in a publishing house run by the charming but ruthless Batala (Jules Berry)&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Berry-Lefevre.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Berry-Lefevre.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Berry-Lefevre.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Berry-Lefevre-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Berry-Lefevre-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Berry-Lefevre-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; who has &#8220;sexually used&#8221; &#8220;every young female in this story&#8221; and &#8220;financially exploited&#8221; &#8220;every male&#8221;. He notes that &#8220;at first we are amused by how the fast-talking Batala charms everyone into doing his bidding (the scene in which he lavishes great praise on a creditor&#8217;s scruffy mutt is a classic)&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Dog.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Dog.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73686\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Dog.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Dog-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Dog-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Dog-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Lange:<\/strong> &#8220;What a fine dog you have. I know a lot about dogs.&#8221;<br \/>\n<strong>Creditor:<\/strong> &#8220;Daisy&#8217;s a bitch.&#8221;<br \/>\n<strong>Lange:<\/strong> &#8220;Daisy? Ah, yes&#8230; an excellent breed.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8230; but &#8220;by the time he seduces a vulnerable young laundress (and impregnates her&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Langue-Seduction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Langue-Seduction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Langue-Seduction.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Langue-Seduction-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Langue-Seduction-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Langue-Seduction-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; &#8220;and gets Lange to sign away his rights to his Arizona Jim pulp western, we begin to realize that he is meant to personify evil (i.e., a fascist\/money-hungry capitalist).&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Peary writes that this &#8220;picture has wit, warmth, [and] characters you care about&#8221; &#8212; and &#8220;what is most remarkable is the picture&#8217;s sexual maturity and frankness. This is no Hollywood film: we see Lange and his girlfriend in bed together&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Bed.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Bed.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73687\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Bed.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Bed-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Bed-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Bed-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; &#8220;men take for granted that their lovers have had previous sexual experiences, a girlfriend&#8217;s pregnancy by another man is shrugged off, an unwed mother is accepted.&#8221; He concludes by noting that &#8220;this being Paris, both men&#8230; and women&#8230; are sexual prey: in Renoir, it&#8217;s important not to be isolated from those who care about you.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll admit to taking a moment to warm to the unusual pacing and narrative of this film, which moves quickly from character to character, showing us a m\u00e9lange of individuals whose various roles in the story only gradually emerge as clear &#8212; but once we understand that Batala is, as Peary writes, the unambiguous villain of the piece (capitalist evil personified), we become more intrigued by how events will fall out &#8212; especially knowing from the outset (this is a flashback film with a give-away title) that Lange is being pursued for committing a crime, and that a priest Batala meets on the train will likely end up playing a role of some kind: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Priest.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Priest.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Priest.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Priest-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Priest-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-of-Monsieur-Lange-Priest-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This fable about collective support in the face of oppression remains a powerful little tale, and is well worth viewing as an introduction to Renoir&#8217;s work. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography2-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography2-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography2-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-73683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Crime-Monsieur-Lange-Cinematography-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a fine early classic by Renoir.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0027478\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/newspapers?id=1W8QAAAAIBAJ&#038;sjid=LIwDAAAAIBAJ&#038;pg=5839%2C946156\">Village Voice Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You have the eyes of a child.&#8221; Synopsis: When a womanizing publisher (Jules Berry) is killed in a train accident, the people he left behind &#8212; including a writer (Rene Lefevre) and his wife (Florelle), as well as an impregnated seamstress (Nadia Sibirskaia) and her understanding boyfriend (Maurice Baquet) &#8212; form a collective to run Berry&#8217;s company from a more collaborative and financially feasible stance. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Flashback Films French Films Jean Renoir Films Revenge Womanizers Response&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=73680\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73680"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73695,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73680\/revisions\/73695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}