Beau travail (1999)

Directed by: Claire Denis | 92 minutes | drama, war | Actors: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Richard Courcet, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Adiatou Massudi

The life of a soldier can be hard and exhausting. Adjutant Galoup (Denis Lavant) is in his element in the military. He leads a group of soldiers stationed on behalf of France in the East African country of Djibouti. He looks back on this beautiful time from Marseille, because he was expelled from the army for an unknown reason. For Galoup, this marks the end of his career in the military, the only thing he had in his life.

Most of the narration in ‘Beau travail’ comes from a voice-over by Galoup. The memories he has of his time in Djibouti are very dear to him. Although it cannot be read from his stoic face, he tells in detail that it was the best time of his life. Everything the army revolves around makes him happy, even when there were periods of little action. Because that is also the life of a soldier who has been sent out: often it is a matter of waiting until something can be done. Then Galoup and his men do exercises on the golden beaches of Djibouti. Galoup has great admiration for his commander, Bruno Forestier (Michel Subor). He is enamored with how he works, to the point that it turns into obsession and jealousy. Galoup even wears a bracelet with Bruno’s name on it when he gets back to Marseille. Everything runs smoothly until a new cadet joins the team. This Gilles Sentain (Grégoire Colin) has everything a good soldier should have. The jealous Galoup cannot bear this and must find a solution to get rid of Gilles.

Everything in ‘Beau Travail’ revolves around rhythm. The rhythm of soldier’s life is what disciplines the men in the sweltering hot Djibouti. There is a certain beauty in this rhythm and director Claire Denis shows this regularly. The choreography of the exercises that the soldiers do have been perfected down to the last detail. Not even a cloud to be seen in the clear blue sky. These hypnotic images draw the viewer into the film. The vast majority of ‘Beau travail’ consists of images of soldiers at work who don’t actually do much. No shot is fired. Despite little happening, ‘Beau travail’ is a joy to watch. The landscape of Djibouti is beautifully filmed. Menacing music can be heard regularly when the soldiers do their exercises. This mysterious soundtrack does not bode well. What exactly awaits, however, is unclear. In this way, the story of the film also remains interesting.

Galoup’s thoughts are not the only thing that plays in ‘Beau travail’. Symbolic images suggest that Galoup is homosexual. The soldiers are often scantily dressed during their exercises. The fact that director Denis has given them few clothes is not only due to the temperature in Djibouti. Galoup takes a neutral look at his hard-working men, but there’s more hidden behind this mask. Gilles triggers something in him, although it is not certain whether this is just hatred and jealousy. Either way, Galoup must make sure the rhythm returns to his life.

‘Beau travail’ means ‘good work’ and that is an understatement for Denis’ film. A film where not that much happens, but where you can think about enough afterwards.