When we talk about the best war films in history, we always think of titles like Apocalypse Now, Paths of glory, In the West, nothing newbut the 1930s version and not the Netflix one, or We must save Private Ryan. But the truth is that there is a title that critics place above all these films and that many always forget exists. This is Beau Travail, the interwar drama directed by Claire Denis in 1999.
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Inspired by a novel by Herman Melville published in 1888, Beau Travail takes us to Djibouti to immerse us in the French Foreign Legion, but not to tell us about a major warlike confrontation. The story revolves around the special relationship between a sergeant and one of his most promising soldiers, which eventually culminates in a confrontation between the two, while we simultaneously discover the routine of the military in times of peace.
The public ignored him
Presented worldwide at the Venice Film Festival in 1999, Beau Travail was quickly acclaimed by critics, but in reality, it went largely unnoticed by the public. It achieved 63,459 admissions in France during its theatrical run and a total of 132,577 spectators in Europe, including 55,963 admissions in Great Britain.
Currently, Beau Travail ranks seventh on Sight and Sound’s 2022 list of the best films in history. It is the highest-ranked war film by the 1,639 critics who entered the competition . I will warn you that this is not a war film in the most conventional sense, which probably helped it stand out, at least in part.
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If you want to see it, it is available for streaming on Mubi and for rental on all VOD platforms.
