The 317th Platoon
Since the beginnings of the Septième art, French pioneers have left their marks, weaving a privileged bond between the history of this medium and the cinematography of their country, that has never been denied over the decades. This recurring cycle aims to remind to film lovers, some of the treasures of this heritage, sometimes preserved in the collections of the Cinémathèque.
Winner of the Best Screenplay Award, 1965 Cannes Film Festival
Laos, 1954. Shortly before the end of the Indochina war, the 317th platoon – four French soldiers and some forty Laotian fighters – receives the order to move back to the plains of Diên Biên Phu, where the French army is trapped. Led by an inexperienced second lieutenant and a World War II veteran, the group has to cross 150 kilometers of jungle and confront a hostile environment.
Pierre Schoendoerffer
Pierre Schoendoerffer was a French novelist, filmmaker, screenwriter, and documentarian. Originally a sailor, he was drafted into military service and joined the French Army’s Cinematographic Service. Sent to Indochina, he filmed the war from 1952 until the fall of Ðiện Biên Phủ in 1954. Demobilized in 1955, he stayed there and became a photographer for major international magazines. Using the earnings from his photo reports, he decided to complete his world tour by traveling eastward. In 1964, he directed The 317th Platoon, a war film with a documentary-like approach, adapted from his own novel. It won the Best Screenplay Award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. He then collaborated with Dominique Merlin on The Anderson Platoon (1967), a documentary filmed alongside the U.S. Army in Vietnam. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, along with several international accolades. Schoendoerffer also found great success with The Drummer-Crab (1977), which won the Grand Prix du Roman from the Académie Française. Its film adaptation went on to receive three César Awards.
