Loneliness.

608

Holy shit was this good. It's a pretty strange film, really, but everything somehow works, and wonderfully at that. Original, engaging, beautiful - incredibly well-shot and scored. It is a masterpiece, and one of the very best films I've seen.

"Beau Travail is an allegorical tale of revenge and jealousy set within a French Foreign Legion outpost in Africa." - Ed Gonzalez

I appreciated the beautiful images of the Djibouti coastline, the rocky wasteland, and the salt flats, as well as the choreographed exercises, drills, and ironing. The emphasis here on the importance of ritual, contrasted with the free-flowing dancing, presents interesting material with which to interact. However, this struck me as a formal exercise lacking in feeling. While I can appreciate the craft, the film constantly kept itself at a distance--too far, in my view.

The key to Claire Denis seems to be rhythm, (seamless) transitions, and - as the "Sight & Sound" review of 'White Material' notes - "the casual, even brutal form of exposition". Flow is key. Scenes follow each other naturally, never arbitrary, yet also never signposted. It runs deeper than narrative. "Beau Travail" is a prime example - and also a beautiful ode to the human body with some of the most sensual, raw and physical - yet never overtly erotic - footage this side of Leni Riefenstahl.

Wonderfully hypnotic film with a truly sensational, if enigmatic, ending.

789

Slowly paced but despite the aimless feel there's just enough meat to the characters that it's interesting to see them go through their paces of training and relaxing. If I cared more about the lifestyle of the French Foreign Legion I'd love it, but as is I'm content with enjoying and appreciating it.

There's nothing else like it.

13 Ocak '13, Film, kusursuz bir duzen olarak kabul edebilecegimiz orduda, erkek olmayi, iktidar iliskilerini, 'kusursuz' erkek bedenleri araciligi ile anlatiyor. Galoup kiskanir, arzular ve onun kusuru da budur; insan olmak. Susan Sontag'ın dedigi gibi; kotu, kusursuzdur. Bu baglamda Beau Travail, antifasist bir filmdir. Kusurlu karakteri ile aslinda kusurluluga, insana ovgudur.

OMG SO GAY

An unusual film with a free-form narrative. Galoup's sexuality is clear as the camera lingers on the glistening shirtless bodies of young men enduring rigid, and almost balletic, training routines. His repression is clear through numerous scenes and symbols of alienation and separation. The film certainly has a striking beauty to it at times, but Claire Denis often seems to be belaboring the point. But if you don't mind the languid repetitiveness of it, it can be an interesting experience.

Claire Denis crafted something special with this one. A hypnotic film about jealousy might not work for some (or even most) but by the time it ends it has cast some sort of unspeakable spell.

Blew my mind on every level. The fascination with male body and the somewhat homoerotic training exercises is, at least not for me, a distraction - it's actually quite aesthetically satisfying. The loose narrative structure is incredibly relieving and disturbing at the same time. All this, combined with striking compositions of the Red Sea, implemented as a surreal counterpoint to the endeavouring life of the soldiers - simply put, an immense cinematic experience.

#603

Even the scenes in which the groups of soldiers dance feel like they are repressing who they are so that they can become part of a single unit, with the choral music laid over the top emphasising the element of ritual in their training. Perhaps that is why the ending - which should by all rites be ridiculous - is such a profound moment of expression. A beautiful piece of filmmaking, especially with the scenes upon the outright alien landscape provided by the salt flats.