The French war in Indochina is a fantastic subject, and has been beautifully illustrated by Schoendorffer in his film, the 317 ème Section. There is no war film like the 317 ème and there will never be...but there are many other aspects of this conflict that could be explored such as the clash of political ideologies, the Corsican and Vietnamese Mafia in Indochina, American policies during the war, RC 4, Lang-Son, Vietnamese Catholics, the Emperor, etc. The strength of SOLDAT BLANC is that it tells the story of a Frenchman who becomes a Viet-Minh Commissaire Politique and the notions of treason and loyalty (to a flag, to ideas?), but the film's format is not right: too long for a film, too short for a series and therefore the story lines remain purely schematic, and underdeveloped. A great subject somehow marred by indecision in filmmaking...still a good film to watch.