Described by André Bazin as one of Jean Renoir's finest films, The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1935) tells the story of a political uprising in the spirit of the French “Front Populaire” movement of the time: The good-natured Mr. Lange works for the newspaper publisher Batala, a sinister figure who exploits his workers and employees both economically and sexually. Lange's dream of writing a Western series about the cowboy “Arizona Jim” seems to come true when Batala disappears in a train accident and the workers take over the publishing house as a cooperative. But the joy of the socialization of the business is called into question by an unexpected turn of events... With witty dialogue and a charming mix of professional actors and amateurs, Renoir uses his inimitable feel for different social modes of speech and behavior to create a world in the backyard of the publishing house in which the classes are constantly mixing. While his later films are characterized by the virtuoso use of depth of field, The Crime of Monsieur Lange focuses on complex sequence shots that lend collectivization a specific cinematic form.

Film scholar Sulgi Lie will discuss Renoir's politics of form with director Julian Radlmaier, for whose Selbstkritik e!nes bürgerlichen Hundes (2017) The Crime of Monsieur Lange was an important point of reference.