New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
So minimalist in characterization and dialogue that the plot all but evaporates -- and so does any dramatic power.
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France · 2000
1h 30m
Director Claire Denis
Starring Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Nicolas Duvauchelle
Genre Drama
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Chief Adjutant Galoup writes memoirs on his experiences in the French Foreign Legion sitting in his home in Marseille. He explores the loyalty and complicated emotions he felt being part of the Legion, and how his time there became upended by the arrival of a new recruit, Sentain.
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
So minimalist in characterization and dialogue that the plot all but evaporates -- and so does any dramatic power.
Denis dispenses with most of Melville's hefty Christian symbolism in favor of the story's other great theme -- repressed homoerotic desire.
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
A ruggedly beautiful landscape of desert and sea provides a dramatic setting for a psychological drama told with the utmost rigor--and unabashed eroticism.
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
A stunning work of beauty, mystery, contemplation, and grit -- and like sands through the desert hourglass, these are the days of our lives.
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
You may not like Beau Travail - which is, after all, a quintessential "critic's film" - but I think you'll have to admit it's been almost perfectly executed.
A lovely piece of work.
San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Stack
Riveting.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
Unique and unforgettable.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
A film that has the sweep and esthetic power of a full-length ballet.
San Francisco Examiner by Wesley Morris
Elegant.
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His terrifying obsession took them to the brink of death and beyond.
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Smile while you're makin' it. Laugh while you're takin' it. Even though you're fakin' it. Nobody's gonna know...
Life imitates art in "The Misanthrope"
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Love and hate need no translation.
So intensely and beautifully choreographed! You absolutely feel the release in the last scene.
This is the first film of Claire Denis's that I have seen, and she has such a unique eye. I think of the film's final scene often; I wish I could watch it for the first time again! I am very excited to check out more of her work.