Another great collection of French film noir

Film festivals can be important vehicles for transforming people’s understanding of cinema history. So it has been with Don Malcolm’s annual “The French Had a Name for It” festival at the Roxie Theater, which since 2014 has rewritten the history of film noir and resurrected the mostly forgotten treasures of French noir.

His latest is a brilliantly curated collection of 15 films, spread out over a four-day event, running Sunday-Monday, Nov. 6-7, and Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 12-13. Malcolm mixes previously unscreened discoveries, such as director Jacques Becker’s “It Happened at the Inn” (1943) and a Francoise Arnoul double feature; as well as crowd favorites from previous festivals, such as “Cette Nuit-La” and “A Kiss for a Killer,” starring Mylene Demongeot (pictured), and “Highway Pickup” starring Robert Hossein.

— Mick LaSalle

Spéva Films