Director:		Pierre Schoendoerffer
Year:		1977
Language:		French
Time:		120 minutes

Recounts the exploits of a French naval officer who served in Vietnam in the 1950s, was captured and imprisoned by the Vietnamese for three years, and then participated in an unsuccessful 1961 mutiny of French army generals against the de Gaulle regime. Won three César awards for best actor, supporting actor, and cinematography.

Director Peter Schoendoerffer took the plot of this film from his own novel by the same name:

• In French:  Le Crabe Tambour. Paris: Grasset, 1976. Out of print.

• In English:  The Paths of the Sea. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan ISBN: 0698109031

Not rated but depicts scenes of war.

Links

Pierre Schoendoerffer's filmography

French-language review of the film with comments on the film score by Philippe Sarde