Le Crabe-Tambour

This film memorializes the wars of de-colonization in Vietnam and Algeria by offering a romantic view of a disgraced French military officer. Known as the "Crabe-Tambour" (Drummer-Crab), Lt. Willsdorff inspires his men with his tenacity and love of war. Years later, a group of French naval officers attempt to find their now-disgraced leader off the coast of Newfoundland. The film was based on the novel that Pierre Schoendoerffer, the film's directtor, published in 1976. The title character played by Jacques Perrin is based on the famous French Navy officer Pierre Guillaume (1925-2002).