Claire Denis's BEAU TRAVAIL follows the retired Foreign Legionnaire Galoup as he strictly commands his unit in Djibouti, East Africa. When the charismatic soldier Sentain joins the team, Galoup is consumed by destructive jealousy. The film’s precise military choreographies and the rugged beauty of the desert landscapes, combined with long, meditative takes, create a reflection on the fragility of masculinity. Agnès Godard’s subtle use of color and lighting captures the physical presence and intensity of the soldiers, while tenderly reflecting on the psychology of isolation and the tension between self-fulfillment and military discipline within a rigid system.

Loan of the film print with kind support of Arsenal - Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V..