Feminine Narrative and the Law in Renoir's "Le Crime de M. Lange" by Lyall Bush

Cinema Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 54-70

    Bush’s essay about Le Crime de Monsieur Lange focuses on the ending of the film from a psychological perspective.  She cites Marx and Lacan in order to describe the psychological impact of ideologies on individuals.  Individuals act within the established social norms of society (the Law of the Father), and do so unconsciously, blind to the ideologies they follow.  Because of the Oedipal relationship between Lange and Batala, the Law of the Father comes into play.  Batala can be seen as the "Father" figure who represents the established ideologies that Renoir wishes to question and abandon.  Batala’s power is manifest from the beginning of the film.  He has control over language (and thus ideas), evident in early scenes when he gives advice to his writers and often rewrites their pieces to his liking.  His power is metaphorically indicated by the fact that his office is on the top floor while the laundresses work downstairs.  Finally, he owns the publishing business and thus has complete control of its financial workings and its workers.  However, as the film progresses this Father figure is defeated.  The initial victory comes after Batala fakes his own death and the workers acquire the publishing house.  The death of Estelle’s baby, fathered by Batala, is also optimistic as it prevents the Father’s succession.  After Batala is gone, the publishing house is able to prosper with Lange’s creative ideas for Arizona Jim, now under his control. 
    The ending, however, emerges as a great contradiction, as there is a "disjunction between transgression as capitalism and transgression as the way one escapes from it."  In other words, even though Batala is an evil character, the act of killing him is still viewed as unacceptable by society.  Bush interprets this ending as the piecing back together of the Father previously thought defeated.  Even though they broke the law, Valentine and Lange still follow it when they leave the country.  This can be seen as conveying the futility of trying to escape from ideologies.  Although their footprints in the sand will be washed away, in this fading away the Father is returning in favor of the old law.  Even Batala’s murder can be interpreted as carried out under the law of the Father, because Batala suggests that Lange should kill him.  
    This essay is similar to Reader's in that both interpret the ending as taking away from the optimism of the rest of the film.  In relation to my larger investigation, Lyall's piece ackowledges Renoir's attempt to push Popular Front ideology.  However, he argues that Renoir questions whether the Front can bring about the change it desires and stresses that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Feature Films as History, 1981, Chapter 4, Elizabeth Grottle Strebel

    Strebel focuses her analysis of Le Crime de Monsieur Lange on the history of its production.  She gives a detailed description of how the film came to be made, and she believes this history is critical in understanding the film.   
    The movie was filmed in just under thirty days in October and November of 1935, a few months after the Popular Front formed and garnered much support.  In 1935, both Pathe and Gaumont filed for bankruptcy, leading to an influx of smaller production companies and a freer atmosphere for filmmakers.  It was during this period that Renoir had the most control over his creative expression.  He was able to personally select his collaborators, and drew heavily from the October Group, which he greatly admired.  The October Group was a radical theater company that rejected bourgeois theater and favored a theater of the masses.  It was affiliated with larger organizations, such as the Communist sponsored Federation du Theatre Ourvrier, which was involved in assisting labor.  A chief influence on the film was Communist poet Jacques Prevert, largely responsible for the script.  Another influence was Jacques Castanier, who is credited with coming up with the idea of a courtyard being at the film's center.  
    Because of its production history, Strebel believes that the film in its entirety is a celebration of Popular Front ideals.  She notes that the word “l’ange” in France means angel, and thus believes the film eulogizes Lange and his actions.  After all, the October Group’s productions also celebrated and poeticized the working class.  Strebel also sees the film’s ending as optimistic, especially since at the time the film was made the Popular Front was gaining power and instilling hope in the people of France who feared fascism.

In his chapter about Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, Bazin discusses the set-up of the courtyard and its importance to the overall themes of the film.  He includes a diagram that he drew, signaling where the major action points are located and the path of Lange as he moves to kill Batala.  The set for the film was not built on a series of sound stages, but was constructed in its entirety in order to allow camera movements such as the 360-degree pan that show the entire court at once.  Bazin points out that the working title of the film during production was “On the Courtyard”, thus further emphasizing the importance Renoir and his collaborators placed upon it.  His diagram of the courtyard emphasizes the notion of circularity, which is later called into question in Leland Poague’s essay, another one of my sources.  According to Bazin, the center of the courtyard is organized into concentric circles, one of which the camera finals in the famous murder sequence.  Thus, the audience has been trained to see things as circular.  For example, in a prior scene the drunken concierge drags garbage cans completely around the courtyard.  Bazin concludes that the entire mise-en-scene has been leading up to the shot, so we are prepared to accept it and its implications. 
    Bazin also discusses how the acting is an equally important stylistic device for the film.  He notices that for the most part there is simplicity in the acting style.  However, one performance stands out, Jules Berry’s Batala.  Bazin says that Renoir enjoyed “this kind of genial ham actor”, primarily because of how effective he was in the film.  The incongruity of his villainy constantly draws our attention away from the other characters, and thus after his departure we can better focus on them.  Thus, one the domineering, evil capitalist is removed, we can focus on the benevolent characters who make up the social. 

In his analysis of Crime de Monsieur Lange, Sesonske believes there is a direct connection between the politics of the day and the film.  He argues that the focus of the film is not a single person, but a central place, the courtyard.  The court is a structural element because the interactions of the characters depend solely upon the fact that they live and work around it.  Sesonske points out that nearly every camera shot is of the courtyard or the courtyard and some interior space, thus highlighting its importance.  In addition, Sesonske notices that the camera movements take a cyclical form, which further gives a sense of unity among all the diverse actions.  Either the camera moves cyclically (the famous 360-degree pan, for example) or the camera is stationary and the characters move in and out of the shot cyclically.  And while the beginning of the film is dominated by two-person encounters, group scenes become more common after Batala's departure, further evoking a sense of community and cooperation, a de-emphasis on the individual.  
    According to Sesonske, the success of the cooperative within the film is essentially a realization of the goals of the Popular Front.  The evil employer who exploits the workers is murdered, thus reforming the social structure by having socialized cooperation replace authoritarian power.  The workers are freed from oppressive labor conditions, and the company thrives under their control.  And rather than having this film serve as an isolated allegory, Renoir tries to include society as a whole.  For example, strangers pass in and out of the courtyard, including unknown children and a bicycle repairman.  But society is most evoked through the hotel framing scenes in which characters act as a makeshift jury trying to decide whether to bring Lange to the police.  In the end, these ordinary people (and the audience) decide to acquit Lange, thus justifying his militant action.  Sensonke also comments briefly on the ending.  Although Valentine and Lange are "free", they are exiled from the court that was their home.  Thus, there is perhaps more sadness than joy in the final shot of them walking on dunes.

In his analysis of Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, Faulkner continues and elaborates upon many of the ideas posed by Sesonske.  Like Sesonske, he views the film primarily in political terms, and argues that the events do not transcend the politics of the time.  He analyzes every aspect of the film, including plot, characterization, and camerawork, in terms of how they convey Popular Front ideals to the audience. 
    Faulkner points out that Batala's mismanagement is not solely due to his character, but because of his position of power.  He is able to exploit others, and does so on many occasions, treating both women and labor for their immediate use value.  For example, he seduces Estelle and Edith, but abandons Estelle when she becomes pregnant and Edith when he must flee creditors.  Faulkner further discusses the symbolism of the billboard brought up by Sesonske.  The billboard blocked Charles' view of the courtyard, but after Batala leaves Lange decides to take it down.  Faulkner argues that the shot from inside looking out as the billboard is removed encourages the intersection of private and public life, and stresses the importance of community.      
    Probably the most important part of his work is his analysis of the famous 360-degree pan.  While Sesonske said that the pan continues with the spatial conception of the circular courtyard, Faulkner discusses further implications.  Rarely in a film does the camera deliberately take us away from the action, especially in sequences of great importance and suspense.  And yet, at the climax of the film, as Lange goes to murder Batala, the camera turns away from the direction of Lange's movement and around the courtyard before finally meeting up with him again as he pulls the trigger.  If we are to interpret the film in terms of Popular Front ideology, this camera movement gives us the sense of Lange not being in full control of his actions.  There is a desubjectivisation in the shot because it acknowledges that the subject of the film is not the psychology of Lange.  Because the pan circles around the courtyard, it places emphasis on the community and implies a collective responsibility of the action.  In other words, the murder is the political will of the community to protect the new socialized community ideal. 
    Faulkner's discussion of the film makes very direct connections between French politics and Lange, and delineates them very clearly.

Five masked young men robbed a Chinatown bus company’s office at gunpoint on Sunday afternoon, binding five people with duct tape and fleeing with thousands of dollars in cash, the police and the company’s president said.

The robbery occurred at 15 Division Street, at the offices of Golden Express Company, one of several low-cost bus lines in Chinatown that take passengers to and from Atlantic City.

The president of the company, May Chow, said the five men burst into the third-floor office shortly after 12:30 p.m.

“There were these five guys, five young fellows wearing ski masks,” Mrs. Chow said. “One of them jumped over the counter and said: ‘This is a holdup, I’m not kidding. Where is the safe?’ I told him there is no safe in the office. He said, ‘Where is the money?’ I went back and got money from my bag.”

Mrs. Chow said the robbers spotted envelopes with the weekend’s earnings and took them. “They took our sales,” she said. “Three days’ worth. We haven’t really gotten the total yet, but it’s more than $27,000.”

NEW YORK -- Sixteen people linked to Asian organized crime were arrested overnight by a task force of FBI, NYPD, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators for allegedly extorting bus companies, WNBC.com has learned.

Law enforcement sources told WNBC.com that a federal indictment charges the individuals with various acts of violence and extortion targeting operators of bus companies which do business between New York and east coast cities.

Fifteen of the arrests took place in the New York City metropolitan area and one other person was arrested in Florida, sources said.

Details about the charges are expected to be released later today as the those arrested appear in federal court in Manhattan.

Fifteen of the arrests took place in the New York City metropolitan area and one other person was arrested in Florida, sources said.

archives 2005 » jan. 5th
IMMIGRATION
Borderline Realities

When Mexican men and women living in South Philadelphia become crime victims, they're often too afraid to tell the police.

by Kate Kilpatrick

One day in his first year in the U.S., Rubén, now 26, left his apartment at 15th and Bainbridge, where he lived with seven other men, to go to work. With the other men at work too, the house was empty all day.

When Rubén returned that evening everything was missing--the TV, VCR, PlayStation, telephone, stereo, CDs (most of them Mexican), air conditioner, bed covers and clothes. Their collective hidden savings--totaling $11,000--were gone. None of the men spoke much English, or knew where to turn for help. One of the men told his boss, a restaurant owner, who said that because they were illegal, there was nothing he could do. No one contacted the police.

This story's far from unusual. Those in South Philadelphia's Mexican community say they're the victims of countless crimes--muggings, bike thefts, robberies, armed assaults, rapes--that never get reported.

Rubén's friend Jaime, 26, sums up a common experience: "You can drive, but you can't [legally]," he says. "So most Mexicanos go for a bike. In the restaurant business you get off at 12 or 1. If you're a dishwasher, you probably get off at 2. If you live at Seventh and Tasker, or Fifth or Fourth and Morris or Dickinson, mostly that part is bad. We can't afford to pay expensive rent to live on Fitzwater or Bainbridge. So most of the Mexicanos in South Philly live in dangerous places. I know a lot of my friends were assaulted by guys trying to get their bikes. We can't get a bank account, so we keep the money in our pocket. I don't know how they know that. We keep all our money until we send it home. So a lot of people get robbed."

"Stereotypes." University of Michigan. 05 Apr. 2008 <http://www.umich.edu/~themafia/stereotypes.html>

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, has been successful in perpetrating a negative image of Italian Americans. The Godfather has become synonymous with organized crime and such a relationship is referred to as the dissociation model in which “a universal stereotype is known and presented to us (us meaning the audience) by the mass media.” Research studies indicate that The Godfather dramatically changed the perception of Italian- American films. Prior to the movie’s release in 1972, 43% of Italian based films made in America contained mafia themes, while the number rose to 57% following the influence of The Godfather. Ben Lawson of the Italian Studies and Film Studies Department at Purdue University conducted surveys asking, “Do Mafia movies and television shows such as the Sopranos affect the image of Italian Americans?" The majority replied that The Godfather is the most prominent mafia movie or show. Additionally subjects were asked to "name three things that come to mind when thinking of Italian-Americans." Among the most popular responses were those of mafia, greedy, sneaky, and violence.

It remains evident that an Italian American stereotype exists and The Godfather was instrumental in further reconfirming many of the preconceived notions associated with the ethnic group. While some were able to move themselves past the grotesque actions of the Corleone’s, others were simply too appalled by the family’s willingness to resort to extreme violence. The polarizing nature of the Corleone family is displayed; regardless of the family’s positive familial values and strong bonds, many viewers could not empathize with mass murderers. While some gained newfound respect for Mafia members and their sensitivity in the domestic setting, others found the mob to be even more in their disfavor.

    Brion, Denis J. “Pluralism: Rashomon and Contested Conceptions of Criminality.” (2006) Washington & Lee Legal Studies Paper No. 2006-11.

    This paper is a Legal Studies paper written by Washington and Lee student Denis Brion in September 2006. In his paper, he uses the film Rashomon as the basis for his argument about pluralism in human perception carried into the various degrees of criminality. The film depicts four different reports of a violent crime in twelfth century Japan, told by three participators and one witness. These four perspectives are the extended to elaborate on the four modes of criminality and the four levels of individual human consciousness using the California Supreme Court case Taylor vs. Supreme Court as the specific case study. By providing a deep analysis of the aesthetics within the film Rashomon, Brion contends that the United States judicial system works as well by aesthetic acts. He begins by providing a close textual analysis of the four different storytellers in the film: the bandit, the woman, the man, and the witness. In parallel, he then goes on to closely evaluate the Taylor vs. Supreme Court case. Brion then extrapolates his argument into the subject of human nature playing its role in each case. After describing the four levels of consciousness alluded to above, he writes, in a phrase with which Kurosawa would surely agree with, that “perception is a hypothesis; and the reality we perceive is an interpretation.”

Primarily, this paper is extremely useful in a study of Kurosawa’s film Rashomon since it provides a scene by scene close textual analysis of the four different reports shown in the film. Furthermore, it provides a unique insight into the deeper human nature described in the film. Finally, its emphasis on a legal studies perspective in the discussion of the paper provide an important view on the nature of crime in the film, a point that is often overlooked in the greater narrative of perception.

    The article “New Mythology of Crime”, by John G. Cawelti examines the major popularity and acclaim associated with movie “The Godfather” and the reasons historically and socially for it rise to prominence in the minds of American entertainment consumers.

    People throughout history have been fascinated with crime, especially violent crime. In its earliest example we have the Illiad and several works of Shakespeare. This article takes a look at the progression of man’s fascination with crime or violence and how the development of the crime myth has has been shaped as a result the way in which the public identifies with character of the criminal.

    Cawelti examines the possibility that “The Godfather” popularity and renown can be accredited not only to what he describes as “Skillful writing, striking and emotionally involving characters and situation, and a powerfully unified action”, but also to the creation of a new type of crime mythology. He goes on to describe the development of the crime myth throughout history and shows its departure from the traditional dichotomy of moral good and sin towards dynamics that place the criminal in the role of the main character. Several factors influenced the development of the crime myth throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Among these are the development of the detective story, which helped to create a sort of intrigue towards stories of crime and criminal activity. Romanticized criminal characters such as Robin hood and Jesse James also developed during the 19^th and 20^th as well as a deeper insight into the criminal mind through the fields of psychology and sociology.

    A unique aspect of “The Godfather” was the importance and imagery of the family to refer to a criminal organization. This conceit began a new type of association with the criminal character, a sort of understanding or identification with character that was never so prevalent in the crime myth previously. Also, “The Godfather” introduced a sense of awe or fascination with the power and respect of the criminal organization as a whole. The combination of these factors are clearly evident in the film as various parts of the movie are defined by family events, whether it is the wedding of Vito Corleone’s daughter or the baptism of Michael Corleone’s godson, the criminal activities are consistently connected directly with the family. The development of these new conceits is just one of the factors that set “The Godfather” apart as unique and help to explain its tremendous popularity.

A fight over a Chinatown discount bus route ended in a stabbing death on Thursday night, the police said.

The victim, identified by the police as Zhen Ji Li, 31, of East Broadway, was stabbed nine times shortly after 9 p.m. at Pike and Henry Streets and was pronounced dead at the scene. The police arrested Lei Chen, 25, of Indianapolis, charging him with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

According to an investigator, an off-duty agent for the Immigration and Naturalization Service saw the two men struggling and held Mr. Chen at gunpoint until the police arrived. The agent was not identified.

The two men involved in the episode knew each other and worked together for one of the Chinatown bus companies, the police said.

''It appears to be a dispute over money, how much was going to be remunerated, I guess, for the purchase of a bus route, a bus company,'' Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday.

The highly competitive bus companies, which carry passengers from New York's Chinatown to Chinatowns in Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and other cities, have been linked to recurring violence here. It was unclear yesterday whether the fight was connected to previous conflicts in the neighborhood.

New Yorker; 10/22/2007, Vol. 83 Issue 32, p150-163, 13p

The article profiles author and television producer David Simon. Simon, a former reporter for the newspaper "The Baltimore Sun," created the television program "The Wire" about drug crimes in Baltimore. Convicted drug dealer Melvin Williams plays a role on the program. Simon comments how the program depicts the devaluation of people and how much of the program's content is inspired by real events. He describes his struggle to get the program aired on the cable network Home Box Office (HBO).

This site is a non-profit, freely browsable database of crimes reported in Chicago.

It is not affiliated with the Chicago Police Department or with Google Maps. It is not an official source of crime information for the city of Chicago. Rather, it is an alternative view of public record that is available elsewhere.

In defining crime, this article sites The Godfather as a film that not only was wildly successful in its own right, but one that also sparked a crime craze in terms of the manner in which violence was portrayed and consumed by the public.  While it does not attempt to claim that this movie somehow created interest in crime, because this is something the article suggests if very innate to human beings, but rather questions how human beings justify their interest in violence and how definitions of crime vary between cultures.  Finally, the article seeks to answer the question as to whether or not this film somehow changed beliefs about crime and violence.

In order to consider these questions, and prove The Godfather, both as a film and a novel, is representative of a new morality regarding crime, the authors proceed by comparing the structures of this film to the structures of novels and films in the past.  The first aspect of the movie that is considered is the usage of the word “family,” specifically given its historical usage in Italian, which is symbolically used as a replacement for the mafia, or organized crime.  The use of the word family as well as the parallel structures drawn from the Corleone family itself to that of the organized crime unit changes how one views the crime family, making it more complex that simply a group of gangsters out to commit crimes.

A second important factor in the view of crime put forth by The Godfather, is the way in which violence is romanticized and justified in the film.  As the article suggests, we then understand Don Vito’s choices and become sympathetic to him as a character.  As Michael understands him, we too accept his violence.

The article also discusses how a scientific and social approach to crimes had arisen, and places this as a third way in which beliefs about violence were changing.  There was a movement, as depicted in this film, away from morals and religion, which were traditionally associated with crimes.  Therefore, a new belief system had arisen along with new entertainment.

This film review of The Godfather, discusses its merits within its own time. Specifically the film was one of the highest grossing of its time which led to a resurgence of Hollywood film as there had been a great deal of foreign competition at the time.  Francis Ford Coppola solidified himself as a Director despite only being a film student.

As a nearly three hour gangster film, Coppola’s reluctant project was not expected to be such a success, especially given its small budget, despite what we now know is a star packed cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall amongst others.  In addition to grossing a great deal of money, the film won many Oscars, and was highly critically acclaimed.

Despite the gangster genre having been around for quite a while, The Godfather, as a film, and Coppola as a Director reinvented it.  Though the film and characters are somewhat dark, the main characters are very well liked and become tragic heros.  The crimes the commit are justified in some respect and the violence in this film, and many that would follow, was romanticized.

A mafia family story set in the 1940’s and 50’s, “The Godfather is an insightful sociological study of violence, power, honor and obligation, corruption, justice and crime in America.”  The honorable Corleone family is an Italian-American immigrant family that is very tight knit.  Don Corleone, for instance, believes strongly in family values despite what one would imagine a crime lord to value.

This film review of The Godfather, discusses its merits within its own time. Specifically the film was one of the highest grossing of its time which led to a resurgence of Hollywood film as there had been a great deal of foreign competition at the time.  Francis Ford Coppola solidified himself as a Director despite only being a film student.

As a nearly three hour gangster film, Coppola’s reluctant project was not expected to be such a success, especially given its small budget, despite what we now know is a star packed cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall amongst others.  In addition to grossing a great deal of money, the film won many Oscars, and was highly critically acclaimed.

Despite the gangster genre having been around for quite a while, The Godfather, as a film, and Coppola as a Director reinvented it.  Though the film and characters are somewhat dark, the main characters are very well liked and become tragic heros.  The crimes the commit are justified in some respect and the violence in this film, and many that would follow, was romanticized.

A mafia family story set in the 1940’s and 50’s, “The Godfather is an insightful sociological study of violence, power, honor and obligation, corruption, justice and crime in America.”  The honorable Corleone family is an Italian-American immigrant family that is very tight knit.  Don Corleone, for instance, believes strongly in family values despite what one would imagine a crime lord to value.

In defining crime, this article sites The Godfather as a film that not only was wildly successful in its own right, but one that also sparked a crime craze in terms of the manner in which violence was portrayed and consumed by the public.  While it does not attempt to claim that this movie somehow created interest in crime, because this is something the article suggests if very innate to human beings, but rather questions how human beings justify their interest in violence and how definitions of crime vary between cultures.  Finally, the article seeks to answer the question as to whether or not this film somehow changed beliefs about crime and violence.

In order to consider these questions, and prove The Godfather, both as a film and a novel, is representative of a new morality regarding crime, the authors proceed by comparing the structures of this film to the structures of novels and films in the past.  The first aspect of the movie that is considered is the usage of the word “family,” specifically given its historical usage in Italian, which is symbolically used as a replacement for the mafia, or organized crime.  The use of the word family as well as the parallel structures drawn from the Corleone family itself to that of the organized crime unit changes how one views the crime family, making it more complex that simply a group of gangsters out to commit crimes.

A second important factor in the view of crime put forth by The Godfather, is the way in which violence is romanticized and justified in the film.  As the article suggests, we then understand Don Vito’s choices and become sympathetic to him as a character.  As Michael understands him, we too accept his violence.

The article also discusses how a scientific and social approach to crimes had arisen, and places this as a third way in which beliefs about violence were changing.  There was a movement, as depicted in this film, away from morals and religion, which were traditionally associated with crimes.  Therefore, a new belief system had arisen along with new entertainment.