A new print, fresh from its premiere at the Castro Theater. Renoir's only collaboration with Jacques Prévert, The Crime of M. Lange tells of the employees of a publishing house who form a collective to publish the Western adventure novels of their co-worker, M. Lange, after the corrupt owner, Batala, absconds with the firm's capital and is presumed dead. A film that "emphasizes love as a social force" (André Bazin) depends upon the interactions of a marvelous cast, as David Thomson wrote for his PFA series, "Supporting Parts": "Throughout the 1930s, Jean Renoir was seeking ways to make spatial-emotional relationships between his characters more intricate and extensive. M. Lange comes from the years when Renoir was engaged with the Popular Front-it is a kind of propaganda; yet it's also another Maupassant-like conte in which the gravity of Community is offset by the charming silliness of these characters, the tumbling sport of love and humor, and the amazing cinematic freshness that Renoir brings to a deliberately theatrical set. Moreover, everything is made more difficult by the fact that Batala (himself) is engaging, witty and ingenious. (This) gives the film all the ambiguity of Boudu and Cordelier, other works in which Renoir regards the disruptive force with mixed feelings....M. Lange bubbles with his delight in crowded frames and character actors. (And) Renoir was good enough to know that every crowd is an uneasy container for lonely, quirky individuals."