Apparently, a little more than something was lost in the translation. Beau Travail is Herman Melville's Billy Budd , updated to more recent times. This time, everything happens in the French Foreign Legion. The immediate image is one of adventure, honor, and action, but the film leaves a sense of boredom and exasperation. There is little conversation, and narration by Lavant is also minimal.
Silence is the norm, interrupted by extremely loud club music.
Galoup's jealously is imperceptible at first, but grows with each day. Soon, it manifests itself as unfair treatment towards Sentain. And that sums up the entire movie. Galoup's inner emotions slowly boil to the surface, causing his resentment to rise until it hits irrational levels. The entire focus of Beau Travail is on Galoup, and Denis shows how these feelings cause the downfall of a good officer.