. . "1946 - 1954" . . "Indochina History 1945- Drama." . . . . "317th platoon"@en . "On May 23, 1954, as the battle of Dien Bien Phu is reaching its end, the 317th platoon of auxiliary Laotian soldiers receive the order to retreat. As they make their way through the jungle, the 41 Laotians and their four French officers are slowly annihilated in ambushes and ravaged by disease." . . "Drama"@en . "Drama" . . . . "317th Section" . "War" . . . . "War films"@en . . . . "History" . "Historical" . "The 317th Platoon" . . "317ème section" . . . . . . . "L317ème section"@en . . . . "Feature films"@en . . . "Story a French/Laotian platoon during May 1954 (two months before the armistice) as they withdraw thru the jungle after the fall of Dien Bien Phu. They are slowly annihilated by ambushes and disease. The film captures the inarticulate anguish and solitude of each man by focusing on a veteran Alsatian sergeant (who fought in the German army in World War 2) and a young French officer fresh from military school. Their impersonal, hierarchical and sometimes hostile relationship develops into an unlikely friendship. Both the director Shoendoerffer and the photographer Coutard were veterans of the Indochina war."@en . . . . .