Without a doubt, Claire Denis is one of the best filmmakers working today. Over the decades, she has continuously created some of the most interesting and unique features to grace the big screen, including her most recent film, “High Life,” starring Robert Pattinson. And more than 20 years after one of her greatest films was released, Janus Films is ready to reintroduce the world to “Beau Travail.”
As seen in the new trailer for “Beau Travail,” Denis’ classic film is getting a brand-new 4K restoration that is supervised by director of photography Agnès Godard and approved by the director. So, even if you’ve seen the feature previously, the new restoration demands yet another viewing. And the best part is that if you want to check out Denis’ 1999 film in all its 4K glory, you don’t even have to leave your house, as “Beau Travail” is getting a Virtual Cinema release.
“Beau Travail” is loosely based on Herman Melville’s 1888 novella, “Billy Budd,” and tells the story of a French Foreign Legion sergeant that becomes obsessed with a young recruit. The relationship between the two threatens to throw the sergeant’s life into chaos.
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The 4K restoration of “Beau Travail” arrives in Virtual Cinemas, courtesy of Janus Films, on September 4.
Here’s the synopsis for the film:
With her ravishingly sensual take on Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor, Claire Denis firmly established herself as one of the great visual tone poets of our time. Amid the azure waters and sunbaked desert landscapes of Djibouti, a French Foreign Legion sergeant (Denis Lavant) sows the seeds of his own ruin as his obsession with a striking young recruit (Grégoire Colin) plays out to the thunderous, operatic strains of Benjamin Britten. Denis and cinematographer Agnès Godard fold military and masculine codes of honor, colonialism’s legacy, destructive jealousy, and repressed desire into shimmering, hypnotic images that ultimately explode in one of the most startling and unforgettable endings in all of modern cinema.