Beau Travail

"Maybe freedom begins with remorse."

2000 1h 33m FR

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

87%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 381🍅87%Rotten Tomatoes●91Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 17,708

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Foreign Legion officer Galoup recalls his once glorious life, training troops in the Gulf of Djibouti. His existence there was happy, strict and regimented, until the arrival of a promising young recruit, Sentain, plants the seeds of jealousy in Galoup's mind.

“Maybe freedom begins with remorse.”

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Cast

Denis Lavant
Galoup
Michel Subor
Commander Bruno Forestier
Grégoire Colin
Gilles Sentain
Richard Courcet
Legionnaire
Nicolas Duvauchelle
Legionnaire
Adiatou Massudi
Legionnaire
Mickael Ravovski
Legionnaire
Dan Herzberg
Legionnaire

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Claire Denis
Writers: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Languages: French, Italian, Russian, Turkish
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

26 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, Italian, Russian, Turkish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Claire Denis, shot by Agnès Godard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Charles Henri de Pierrefeu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nelly Quettier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Denis Lavant and Michel Subor and Grégoire Colin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Maybe freedom begins with remorse.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0209933 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Claire Denis directs. Agnès Godard behind the camera. Charles Henri de Pierrefeu scores. Nelly Quettier cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France. Dialogue in French, Italian, Russian, Turkish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

126 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, Italian, Russian, Turkish.
3Directed by Claire Denis, shot by Agnès Godard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Charles Henri de Pierrefeu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Nelly Quettier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Denis Lavant and Michel Subor and Grégoire Colin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Maybe freedom begins with remorse.".
8IMDB entry: tt0209933 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "dance", "based on novel or book", "foreign legion", "woman director".

The technical file

Cinematography: Agnès Godard
Original score: Charles Henri de Pierrefeu
Editing: Nelly Quettier
Production design: Arnaud de Moléron
Costume design: Judy Shrewsbury
Makeup / hair: Laurent Blanchard
Sound: Dominique Gaborieau
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Beau Travail (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes: 87% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 91/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 17,708 votes
MPAA: Unrated
US box office: $247,606

Awards

6 wins & 12 nominations total

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography
César Award for Best Cinematography

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Claire Denis

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-08
★ 7/10
Denis Lavant is good in this powerfully delivered reminiscence of soldier "Galoup". Having previously been stationed with his French regiment in Djibouti, director Claire Denis now takes us on a gently paced but effective retrospective as he revisits his time there where his life of discipline and routine gradually becomes compromised as he takes a bit of a shine to the newly arrived, confident and lithe, recruit "Sentain" (Grègoire Colin). The photography here is striking, as is the repetitiveness of their rather pedestrian existence. They spend most of their time, well, killing it! Their perfectly toned bodies frequently exposed to the relentless sunshine - as they do their laundry and their ironing - and to the azure waters of the ocean. For the most part, they are simply bored! It is perhaps that boredom that contributes to the increasingly frustrating existence of "Galoup" and of his commander (Michel Subor). It has a degree of violence to it, a physical and intellectual torment that is well illustrated as the story unfolds slowly but distinctly and not in any way predictably either. This isn't a love story in any traditional guise; but there is affection and sentiment here and as we gradually learn a little of what makes "Galoup" tick, I felt a little immersed in his scenario. The music plays a big part here too - not in a soundtrack manner, but augmenting the imagery and standing in for a dialogue that is sparing and effective. It's a slow burn, but I did enjoy it.

Production companies