Le Crabe-Tambour
"Le Crabe Tambour" ("Drummer Crab") is the nickname for the mysterious central character, Willsdorff (Jacques Perrin), an Alsatian, whose doomed, out-of-date career is recalled through the tales of three naval officers currently serving aboard a French supply ship in the North Atlantic.
Starring Jean Rochefort, Claude Rich, Jacques Perrin, Aurore Clément, Odile Versois, Pierre Rousseau, Jacques Dufilho, François Dyrek, Jean Champion, Bernard Lajarrige
Watch "Le Crabe-Tambour" on Amazon released in 1977. It's a drama and action & adventure movie, and has a rating of 7 out of 10 from Imdb which is usually fine for this kind of movie, and is currently only available for purchase or rent.