Le Crabe Tambour

This offbeat militaristic film won three French Cesars in 1977 but didn't get a US release until 1984. Directed by Schoendoerffer, whose THE ANDERSON PLATOON won an Oscar for feature-length documentary in 1967, LE CRABE TAMBOUR stars Perrin as the title character, a commander who is only seen in flashback. Fighting in the French-Indochina War and in Algeria, Perrin earned his nickname, "the Crab Drum," through his habit of beating his stomach after eating crabs. Years afterward, army captain Rochefort, doctor Rich, and engineer Dufilho are traveling on a Newfoundland-bound ship exchanging stories about "le Crabe Tambour" and their involvement with him. Rich is stil...