Customer Reviews

Beau travail [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

"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.

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)

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.

I guess a film (book, artwork...) that creates such a divergence in opinion is one that is worth checking out.
Not a truly difficult story to follow, as was suggested by a few other reviewers. Certainly stark, but it's only like an hour and twenty minutes, not tedious by any stretch of imagination.
I saw this as something of a continuation of the saga Bruno Forestiere that started with Godard's "Le Petit Soldat".
Anyway, no use getting into too much film theory for this movie. It's as beautifully shot as any movie, the ending was about the most intense (though bizarre) few minutes of a movie I can remember seeing.
This isn't "three star" (whatever that means) review.

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 Britten's 1951 opera of the same name - the movie is arguably more effective in creating a mood than it is in telling the story of a French Foreign Legion officer's obsession with a young recruit. And yet, depending on the viewer's individual tastes, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Unquestionably, all the elements assembled here are magnificent: the cinematography is stunning; the actors are perfectly cast; their performances are beautifully choreographed; the music is intriguing; and the editing is intriguing without being obtrusive. It is as if Denis had purposely decided to draw upon aspects of a variety of artistic disciplines - including opera, the ballet, modern dance, painting, photography, pantomime and acrobatics - in committing her vision to film. The result is a deliberately paced film that will appeal more to audiences who allow themselves to be swept in the style in which the simple story is told, rather than those who enjoy their plots to be laid out in linear fashion and embellished with unambiguous action.

BEAU TRAVAIL is heartily recommended to patient viewers who are willing to let its unique style stimulate their imaginations and emotions; film students, too, should take a look. Others may find it downright frustrating, even incomprehensible.

Beau Travail is Claire Denis's reductionist take on Melville's tragic tale of Billy Budd. While Melville gives us all we need to understand the plight of the beautiful and ill-starred young sailor and his tortured tormentor, Claggart, Denis opts to make everything so subliminal and barely articulated that we are left with stunning visuals of half-naked men doing calisthenics in the hot, windswept deserts of Djibouti and little else to inform us. The cinematography is gorgeous, but the storytelling is ambiguous, confusing, and deliberately opaque. The homoeroticism is beyond obvious, but since the director is a woman, it may be more fairly said to be a woman's enchanted view of the mysterious male wrapped in his wordless love of ritual, his casual, almost sensuous brutality, his obligatory isolation, and an almost servile idolatry of the male body. The way this film is visualized, the French Foreign Legion seems like nothing so much as the Nazi Brownshirts at summer camp. And the story, told from within the mind of the chief antagonist, Galoup (Denis Lavant), is made with such minimalism as to be almost wholly obscured by the mannered style of the film. Many reviewers were entranced by this film because of its luscious landscapes and blatant male splendor. While I think the film was beautiful, I found it virtually incomprehensible as a narrative, and ultimately just plain tedious to sit through.

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 Salieri in Amadeus). Galoup plots a revenge - horrible for its lack of a reason - everyman at his worst moment. The soul of humanity on the line, director Claire Denis makes a great save: the victim apparently survives, Galoup is symbolically banished to a tiny disco room with red lights - but he can dance! Galoup discovers the joy of expression - albeit alone - forever.

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. None of the characters were developed in the usual sense, and none seemed to be really involved with each other, except by proximity. To call it voluptuous seems odd. The bodies were there, but not too interesting in any sensual way. Sergeant Galoup was the only character that showed any kind of "emotion" (if you can call it that) or created any ripples in the deadpan tone of the whole film. He was the only thing that happened, and that was still from a distance.I guess it could be called choreographed. A slice of life? I don't know if I "liked" the film or want to watch it again, but since I bought one I will probably do so one day and maybe pass it on. In other words, I wasn't spellbound or drawn in--just found it an interesting experience. Gregoire Colin is always worth watching.

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 countries. The background scenery is very well picked. Nothing is done in an excessive way in this film !!! It's definitely worth owning!!!

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 someone. A very simple and powerful story of irrational hatred and rivalry between two men in the French Foreign legion. The theme is eternal. And the storytelling is almost all done through images and music, very little dialogue. Not really sure why the reviews are so mixed. It's a truly compelling movie for anyone who appreciates great cinema. Unlike Melville's story, this one has a more sanguine ending, with both protagonists surviving. The movie ends with a truly amazing solo dance by the main protagonist. Anyone interested in modern dance should check it out.