A stunning film of beauty, mystery, sensuality, and power. Galoup reflects from Marseille on his time with the Foreign Legion in African Djibouti. A hypnotic tale unfolds of suppressed desires and jealousy, particularly focused on the popular newcomer Sentain. A lyrical masterpiece that leaves an indelible impression on all who see it. They all came here as strangers, yet Galoup (Denis Lavant) seems completely at home as the sergeant of his unit. He has a local girlfriend in the city and a close, almost father-son relationship with his superior (Michel Subor). He thrives on the strict hierarchy, codes, and rituals of the military. Under his leadership, the soldiers do their laundry, iron their clothes, and train in the desert. The men are still boys. They surrender to the Spartan conditions as if it were a game. They move with the grace of Japanese dancers through the breathtaking, desolate landscape. But this carefully constructed life slowly but inevitably collapses with the arrival of the handsome, mysterious recruit Sentain (Grégoire Colin).
Claire Denis has emerged over the past decades as one of France's leading directors. And none of her films has been as discussed, loved, and praised as Beau Travail. It is the film where all her distinctive qualities reach their peak. Both the dance scenes in the local club and the military exercises in the desert are imbued with a simmering sensuality. The men and the women, the foreign soldiers and the local population, they are strangers to each other, yet one in their physicality. Denis Lavant (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, Holy Motors) here, with his acting and dancing, is the unparalleled embodiment of it. Agnès Godard, her regular cinematographer, surpasses herself in this film with her stunning desert images. The music, ranging from opera to Neil Young to the explosive disco beat of "The Rhythm of the Night," seems inseparable from the film's imagery. And the editing is so innovative that the final scene is considered by many as the best in film history. It is her masterpiece, and although 25 years old, the film sparkles and shines like the brilliant debut of an immensely new talent. Never before has the film been released in the Netherlands. Now showing in a beautifully remastered 4K version.