"Le Crabe Tambour"
1977
Directed by Pierre Schoendoerffer

Based on the career of French naval officer Pierre Guillaume and told through the recollections of his fellow officers, Le Crabe Tambour covers some 20 years of French history as Guillaume patrolled the Mekong River in Vietnam by boat in the 50's, then, taken prisoner, spent three years in a Vietnamese jail, and finally participated in the unsuccessful 1961 rebellion of French army generals against Charles de Gaulle. Shot by Charles de Gaulle, the film often recalls Joseph Conrad, and is "one of the grandest, most beautiful adventure movies in years…successfully maintains its epic sweep from start to finish" (N.Y. Times). French with English subtitles.
120 minutes.