In1954Vietnam,atthetimeofDiênBiênPhu,aFrenchunitonpatrolunderthecommandofaninexperiencedlieutenantisgraduallydepletedbyVietminhuntilonlyanex-WehrmachtAlsatianadjutantremains.Heistodie,atitleinformsus,inAlgeriain1960. Semi-documentaryinstyle,thisisaneffectivelylow-keyappraisalofthedifficultchoiceswithwhichwarconfrontsitssoldiers.AssoofteninVietnamfilmstheenemyisonlyglimpsedfromadistance,thecameraremainingadisembodiedobserveramongthegroup.BertrandTavernieractedasco-writeronthefilm.
