Never has the Male Gaze been so thoroughly applied to men (by a woman director*) as in Beau Travail. “This movie has not plot,” I whispered to my cat halfway through and while it does have a loose plot, most of the movie consists of languid observations of a small band of French Foreign Legion solders in Djibouti. To reach full mesmer, it’s probably best watched in a dark theater on a day with not much else to do.
Verdict: Good
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home, in preparation for Filmspotting Best of the 2000s March Madness
*Young, fit military men are rather mesmerizing.