Review of Beau Travail (2000) by Michael W — 18 Jun 2013

Taking Melville's Billy Budd (which I have not read) as a launching point, Claire Denis transposes the action to Djibouti and the French Foreign Legion. Dennis Lavant (more recently the star of Carax's Holy Motors) conveys the story of his own expulsion from the Legion in flashback and voiceover from a disillusioned point in the future where he escapes into extreme dancing at the local discotheque.

The story focuses on his jealousy toward a younger Legionnaire who has captured the attention of the commanding officer and Lavant's attempts to discredit him. However, the story is only a loose framework that allows Denis to show her complete mastery of film language.

Indeed, this film triumphs in a glorious visual style dotted with beautiful abstract patterns, carried along by superb editing that mixes and matches segments shot differently into a vibrant whole. True, I drifted at times, but a second viewing or one on the big screen might curb that tendency.