Beau Travail Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Beau Travail Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 16, 2020

Claire Denis' "Beau Travail" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new video interview with Denis Lavant; new video interview with Gregoire Colin; selected-scene commentary by cinematographer Agnes Godard; and more. Also included with the release is an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by Girish Shambu and technical credits. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

You follow my orders. Understood?

According to my late grandfather who witnessed the horrors of WW2, in the old days there were two groups of people that would willingly join the French Foreign Legion -- the madmen and the truly desperate ones. He had met a few and insisted that they were the toughest people to ever put on a uniform, but did not regard them as soldiers. He saw them as mercenaries who tried to purge their lives of different kinds of bad.

Claire Denis’ Beau Travail is about a more recent version of the French Foreign Legion, but there is plenty in it proving that my grandfather’s description of it was justified. The film follows closely a compromised middle-aged legionnaire named Galoup (Denis Lavant) who after years of being stationed in a remote corner of Djibouti has returned home to France and failed to adjust to civilian life. He knows exactly why -- the freedom to choose how to live his ‘new’ life is incompatible with the military training that has made him a rational man -- but there is nothing he could do to fix his life because he has been permanently removed from his ‘natural’ environment, so he spends most of his time reliving and reevaluating the sane moments of his past.

The film does not have conventional beginning and ending. It is a long meditation on the legionnaire experience that reveals an irreversible socio-psychological transformation. Galoup’s existence is its center piece, but there are other men at the station whose daily activities are observed as well. One of them is a young and handsome orphan (Gregoire Colin) whose difficult relationship with Galoup forces him to rethink his decision to leave civilian life. Another is the station’s commander, Bruno Forestier (Michel Subor), who likes Galoup’s discipline but secretly despises the culture that it is a part of. Both men have a profound impact on Galoup’s transformation for completely different reasons.

Nature becomes a key character as well. In Djibouti, it is the legionnaires’ trusted spiritual partner but also their greatest enemy. It often looks like nature embraces the legionnaires and rewards their resilience by revealing herself with stunning panoramic vistas, but she frequently punishes those that temporally forget to respect her as well. The contrasts that emerge in this strange yet perfectly logical relationship are quite astonishing. In France, nature is the odd outsider that Galoup is -- she exists and her presence can be recognized but she is every bit as defeated, isolated, and ultimately irrelevant as he is.

The sequence that made this film something of a cult classic comes at the very end -- and actually overlaps the credits -- where Galoup visits a night club and becomes drunk on life. It is unfiltered brilliance captured on film. An uninterrupted, complete version of Corona’s top tune “The Rhythm of the Night” floods the speakers as well.

*Criterion’s Blu-ray release of Beau Travail (Good Work) is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. It also features a fully restored new Stereo track. The 4K master was supervised by the film’s cinematographer, Agnes Godard.

Beau Travail Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Beau Travail arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at L'image Retrouvee in Paris and restored at Deluxe in in Los Angeles. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, and noise management. The original Stereo soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track using Avid's Pro Tools and iZotope RX.

Transfer supervisor: Agnes Godard.
Colorists: Lee Kline/Criterion Post, New York; Frederic Savoir/Amazing Digital Studios, Paris."

The technical presentation exceeded my highest expectations. I have a very old R2 DVD release of Beau Travail in my library and while I always knew that a new 2K/4K master would produce a beautiful new Blu-ray release, I did not quite expect to see such a dramatic difference. (Viewed in native 4K the new master is probably astonishingly gorgeous). The clarity and depth of the desert footage is now what I would describe as 'reference level', plus the fluidity of the visuals is so improved that the entire film has a completely different vibe. I really, really liked the color grading job as well. It has wonderful rich primaries and outstanding ranges of healthy nuances, so kudos to the folks that worked on the new master and made sure that it looks as great as it does. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Beau Travail Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

As soon as the disc loaded up on my player, I went straight to the final sequence to test the dance sequence with Corona's tune "The Rhythm of the Night". The quality of the sound was everything I always wanted to hear from a proper Blu-ray release of Beau Travail -- pure perfection. (Of course, now the music isn't distorted by the PAL encoding on the DVD release either). However, while viewing the film I also noticed a lot of subtle nuances -- gentle wind blows and random street noises -- that practically lost on the DVD release. The dialog is clean, clear, and very easy to follow.

Beau Travail Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Denis Lavant - in this new video interview, actor Denis Lavant discusses the shooting of Beau Travail in Djibouti, his artistic 'connection' with Claire Denis, the filming of the notorious dance sequence, the evolution of his acting career, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Paris in 2020. In French, with optional English subtitles. (29 min, 1080p).

• Agnes Godard - presented here is a selected-scene commentary with cinematographer Agnes Godard, which was recorded exclusively for Criterion in Paris in 2020. Some of the subjects that are addressed in it are the scouting of the key locations in Djibouti, the production process, the use of natural light and the ambience of the local nature, the choreography, etc. In French, with optional English subtitles. (22 min, 1080p).

• Gregoire Colin - in this new video interview, actor Gregoire Colin, recalls his involvement with Beau Travail and work with Claire Denis and cast members during the production process. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Paris in 2020. In French, with optional English subtitles. (17 min, 1080p).

• Claire Denis and Barry Jenkins - presented here is a filmed conversation between Claire Denis and filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). The conversation was filmed in Paris and Los Angeles in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (30 min, 1080i).

• Beau Travail and The Dance Floor - this new video essay was written and narrated by film scholar Judith Mayne. It was produced in New York in 2020 for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (28 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Girish Shambu's essay "A Cinema of Sensation" and technical credits.

Beau Travail Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As soon as I acquired by first Region-Free DVD player, I imported a copy of Claire Denis' Beau Travail. For years, it was one of my favorite acquisitions, and I routinely revisited the film. I am a huge admirer of Denis Lavant and have collected his films as best as I can, so I am thrilled to see Beau Travail restored in 4K and available on Blu-ray in North America. On top of this, the new interview with Lavant is every bit as illuminating as I hoped it would be. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.