--- title: "Beau Travail: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/beau-travail/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/beau-travail" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Beau Travail (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 10 reviews: 7 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Beau Travail, with praise clustering around Denis’s visual storytelling and Agnès Godard’s cinematography. The military drills and ritualised movements are central to that response: the reviews find tension, desire and dehumanisation in the soldiers’ physical routines. Several critics value the way gesture and juxtaposition carry emotion with little dialogue, while Denis Lavant’s shifts from composure to frustration receive particular praise. The film’s elusive storytelling is generally treated as a strength. Reservations concern how much those images offer viewers seeking plot or more direct emotional expression. Variety admires the photography and choreography but sees the slow pace and restraint as barriers to wider appeal. The Evening Standard is more doubtful, finding an aestheticised life-class with little story beneath its ballet-like treatment of the legionnaires. The available verdicts therefore range from strong admiration to qualified scepticism, though two inaccessible reviews limit any fuller account of the dissent. ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 4/4. 2 May 2001. Gonzalez sees the film as a potent allegory of military dehumanization, while remaining sympathetic to Galoup. He praises Denis and cinematographer Agnès Godard for rendering the men’s relationship as an intensely physical, existential struggle. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/beau-travail/) ## Sight and Sound — Simran Hans Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). Hans presents the film as an enduring, emotionally resonant work. She especially praises Denis’s ability to evoke feeling through gesture and juxtaposition, culminating in the final scene. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/bc9dc6fa-0761-553d-8324-f1fbd4bd2005/beau-travail) ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 2000. Thomas gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling it Denis’ most stylized and venturesome work to date. He praises its sensual imagery and ritualized performances for exposing the hollowness beneath the legionnaires’ furious activity. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-02-ca-36462-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2002. Tobias calls the film a major achievement, finding that its elusive, mood-driven approach ultimately succeeds. He especially praises Denis’s mastery of sight and sound, including the hauntingly beautiful military drills and the film’s provocative ending. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/beau-travail-1798194709) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 July 2000. French finds the film riveting, praising its lyrical imagery and layered reworking of Billy Budd. He especially singles out the camera’s loving attention to the legionnaires and the film’s exploration of homoerotic camaraderie. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_review/0,,343810,00.html) ## Empire — Clark Collis Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Collis recommends the film, finding its result worthwhile despite its sparse dialogue. He singles out Denis Lavant’s performance, especially its shifts from rugged calm to explosive frustration and disco dancing. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/beau-travail-review/) ## Variety — Deborah Young Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1999. Festival review. Young finds the film striking and likely to appeal to viewers drawn to cerebral, sensual cinema, though its slow pace and restrained emotional expression may limit its audience. She especially praises Agnes Godard’s clean, colorful cinematography and the choreography of the soldiers’ physical sequences. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/good-work-1117752217/) ## Screen Daily — Phillip Bergson Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2000. The page identifies this as Phillip Bergson’s review, but its text is hidden behind a registration wall. The available material gives no verdict or specific praise or criticism. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/beau-travail/401363.article) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2000. The page is identifiable as a review of Beau Travail, but its text is inaccessible. The critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint therefore cannot be established. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/31/movies/film-review-billy-budd-in-boot-camp-for-legionnaires.html) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The critic finds the film more like an aestheticised life-class than an adventure, with little plot to distract from its imagery. They single out its homoerotic, ballet-like portrayal of the legionnaires, while questioning whether the approach would work outside the film’s setting. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/beau-travail-good-work-7433929.html) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/beau-travail.md