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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The movies of French director Claire Denis (I Can't Sleep, Trouble Every Day) are magical to some viewers and maddening to others because of the indirect way she tells her stories. Plot and character are revealed through what feel like inconsequential moments, while the important events seem to happen between the scenes. Beau Travail is more accessible than most, partly because of the simplicity of its plot (a jealous Foreign Legion sergeant ruins his own career when his beloved commander becomes fond of a young recruit) but mostly because of the vividness of its imagery, particularly sensuous shots of muscular men sweating in the sun or swimming in the ocean. It's unabashedly homoerotic, but it's also a compelling portrait of the basic emotional drives felt by men in extreme circumstances. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Beau Travail is the most provocative and accomplished film yet by French director Claire Denis (Chocolat, I Can't Sleep, Nenette and Boni). Set against the stunning East African enclave of Djibouti, Beau Travail follows a troupe of men in a small French Foreign Legion outpost. Exercising their muscular torsos under the blaring sun, each day the Legionnaires engage in a hypnotically choreographed routine of drills, chores, and mock battles. Sergeant Galoup (Denis Lavant) seems the ideal Legionnaire: a brooding loner, cut off from his past. He runs the troupe like a well-oiled machine, until his jealously for a promising young recruit, Sentain, threatens the delicate balance of his life. With the haunting suspense of a Greek tragedy, Galoup's uncontrollable urge to destroy Sentain ultimately leads to his own downfall.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By "zapasnik"
Format:DVD
"Beau Travail" had its US premiere at the New York Film Festival of 1999, followed by a limited release in select cities. "Select" is the keyword here, as "Beau Travail" is clearly a film for a specialized audience - dialogue is minimal, and events are indicated rather than dramatized. But for those willing to take the cinematic leap, Claire Denis has created a film that is breathtakingly visual and unique.
Instead of doing a literal adaptation of Herman Melville's "Billy Budd," Denis uses it as a starting point. "Beau Travail" is a memory piece that takes on the hypnotic quality of a fever dream; Sergeant Galoup (Denis Lavant), banished from the Foreign Legion and living in present-day Marseilles, looks back on his Legionaire days and the episode that brought about his downfall - his jealousy and persecution of the virtuous, self-sacrificing Sentain (Gregoire Colin). Stationed in the northeast African nation of Djibouti, a remote area of blue skies, blazing sun, sparkling sea, and barren rock, Galoup and his men live the correct, rigid life of the Legionaire - spotless and well-creased unforms, demanding physical labor, and ritualized exercise and gymnastics. Except for those evenings when they cut loose at the local disco with their beautiful African girlfriends, they live in a hyper-masculine, male-only domain. But when Sentain's heroics lead to growing popularity with both his fellow Legionaires and the unit commander, Forestier (Michel Subor), a resentful Galoup embarks on a course of action that leads to his own destruction. The final scenes of him in a disco - alone, isolated, and spinning out of control - are unforgettable.
Claire Denis, who as a young girl lived near the Foreign Legion base in Djibouti, tells her story with alternating images of stark despair and staggering beauty, and they've been lovingly preserved in this DVD edition. Film buffs on the lookout for something original should take a glance at "Beau Travail" - it's a memorable and rewarding experience.
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By shane
Format:DVD
This film caught me by surprise, I found it in my local video store (in Hereford, UK). As it was one of very few foreign legion films on the market I had to watch it. I spent 2 and half years where the film was filmed (Djibouti), some of the actors were genuine legionnaires, I recongized the names and faces, to this end, it was warming to see a fictional pictorial account of the Legion, and it brought back some harsh memories. The plot is hardly exciting, and at times the 'tia chi yoga in the desert is rather farcical, however, the image of true legionnaires doing the assault courses, the conditions they live in and the desert are highly accurate, to this end I found in refreshing in that although not an action packed drama, not a documentary, but an combination of the two, and not a ridiculouos Claude Van Damme stand up comedy. I would recommend this if only for its realisic content parts. I would also highy recommend 'The Naked Soldier' by Tony sloane, a fantastically true account of the French Foreign legion, unlike no other.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Beth G.
Format:DVD
Just had to throw in my 5 stars as this is one of my favorite films ever, and some of the poor reviews here do not do the film justice. Claire Denis is a wonderfully observant and subtle filmmaker of both land/nature and human emotions. The plot is loosely based on Billy Budd, but especially noteworthy is Agnes Varda's stark beautiful cinematography and Denis Lavant's amazing performance. The final disco sequence is breathtaking, truly one of the best 'performance' sequences ever, and oddly in tune with other acrobatic feats Lavant has displayed in other films (Lovers on the Bridge and Mauvais Sang)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing, if a bit odd
This is my latest addition to my "military/war flicks" collection.
From an artistic viewpoint, the film is beautifully shot and beautifully edited. Read more
From an artistic viewpoint, the film is beautifully shot and beautifully edited. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Anthony Prudori
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange Viewpoint
Certainly a thought provoking film, like all this director's work. It was like watching a situation evolve from a careful distance with no involvement. Read more
Published on January 27, 2011 by Frodo
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Feast of Style, Not For All Tastes
Director Claire Denis' BEAU TRAVAIL is not an easy film to categorize. Based in part on Herman Melville's novel, "Billy Budd" - and containing musical passages from Benjamin... Read more
Published on September 11, 2008 by J. Michael Click
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Film
This is a great film from a cinematographic view point. It is very well filmed, the script is well-done, director does an awesome job to relate the attitude of service in hot... Read more
Published on April 17, 2008 by M. Semenov
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Cinematic Masterpiece
Melville's great Billy Budd story told from the perspective of Claggart, who is the villain in Melville's story, but he's not exactly so evil here, even though he does try to kill... Read more
Published on July 10, 2007 by Q
4.0 out of 5 stars
Talk about a woman who loves to focus on the male body.
Even though I've seen quite a few French films this seems to be one of better ones. Is this movie slow pace?, yes but it's done for a reason. Read more
Published on May 9, 2007 by Jenny J.J.I.
1.0 out of 5 stars
NICE BODYS,BUT NOT A GREAT PLOT
This movie is quite slow, for those who are expecting a gay film, this is not, it may under certain circunstances, but is more about tehe foreign legion in Africa. Read more
Published on July 1, 2006 by Mauricio A. Saldivar
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very personal experience
This movie is maddeningly slow. You really have to really be a certain kind of person to appreciate where Claire Denis is going here, and you have to willing to come along for the... Read more
Published on October 30, 2005 by Andrew D. Kennedy
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Puzzle
"Beau Travail" or English translation of "Good Work" by French director Claire Denis is an interesting look at the Foreign Legion. Read more
Published on July 15, 2005 by Lee Armstrong
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Save
Ballet of bodies & souls on African desert & seacoast. Galoup, a foreign legion lifer perfects a structured existence, but becomes troubled by the popularity of a new recruit (a la... Read more
Published on June 6, 2005 by khense
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