Arsenevich: Claire Denis - Beau travail (1999)

Bella tarea

Un sargento de la Legión Extranjera en Djibouti, África, siente atracción, luego celos y, finalmente, odio por uno de sus soldados más sobresalientes. El enfrentamiento entre los dos hombres se convierte en la única guerra concreta para ellos, sumergidos en el tedio del entrenamiento y los rituales cotidianos de los militares en interregnos de paz.

Film de la francesa Claire Denis libremente inspirado en Billy Budd, de Herman Melville, se exhibió en varios festivales, donde causó polémica por su visión brutal y destructiva de la sexualidad masculina e impresionó por su estilizado concepto visual para retratar la agonía del hombre en el desierto. (pantalla info)

In this drama, a military man finds his position of prominence questioned when a new recruit wins the commander's favor. Galoup (Denis Lavant) is an officer at a French Foreign Legion outpost in the Gulf of Dijbouti, where he enjoys a close relationship with the Commanding Officer (Michel Subor) and works with a team of fit young men who work hard all day and play hard all night. When Sentain (Gregoire Colin), a new recruit, joins the troops, Galoup believes that it upsets the delicate balance between the C.O. and the other men. Sentain is well-liked by his comrades for his good humor and selfless nature, and his virtues make him the C.O.'s new favorite. Galoup is jealous of the attention Sentain receives, and he devises a plan to discredit Sentain in the eyes of the other men and have him drummed out of the service. Galoup's plot is found out, however, and Galoup is stripped of his rank and sent home. Beau Travail was loosely based on Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville, though disco dancing did not figure quite as prominently in Melville's novella.

Un peloton de la Légion Etrangère oublié, abandonné quelque part dans le Golfe de Djibouti. Les restes d’une armée fantôme qui joue à la guerre et répare les routes. A Marseille l’ex-adjudant Galoup se souvient de ces temps heureux, de cette vie si bien orchestrée, de ses hommes, son cher troupeau. Mais ce qu’il a vraiment perdu, c’est son commandant. Son commandant qu’il n’a pas voulu partager avec un jeune légionnaire. (unifrance.org)