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Beau travail

“Maybe freedom begins with remorse.”

1999 · 1 h 32 min
Directed by Claire Denis

Cast

Denis Lavant Michel Subor Grégoire Colin

Credits

Written by: Claire Denis

Plot

At a remote Foreign Legion outpost in Djibouti, the former sergeant Galoup remembers how his orderly world was disturbed by the arrival of a handsome new recruit, Sentain, who is admired by the men and the commander. His jealousy grows and leads him to act. Claire Denis's 1999 film, loosely based on Melville's Billy Budd, is a sensual, almost wordless study of masculinity, and ends with a famous dance scene.

Sinekatalog’s take

Claire Denis's Foreign Legion drama is a poetic, sensual meditation on jealousy and masculinity. Denis Lavant's final dance is astonishing, and the film's images and music are hypnotic.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 7.3 / 10 (18,828 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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