Queer Desire and its Arrhythmic Rhythm in Claire Denis' Beau Travail #126

Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast

In the second of three (or maybe even four!) episodes on Queer Cinema this month, Dhruv and Cris rhapsodize about Claire Denis' formally groundbreaking masterwork of queer and post-colonial cinema, "Beau Travail" (1999).

Initially, we planned to make this a 25-30 minute "extra" episode because Cris' recent obsession with the film matched Dhruv's unwavering love for it. But the film, loosely based on Herman Melville's unfinished 1888 novella, "Billy Budd, Sailor," about male camaraderie that gives way to envy and jealousy, inspires a much longer discussion. Everything from the film's Godardian influences to Denis Lavant's staggering central performance to Agnès Godard's unforgettably haunting cinematography is discussed in detail here, with Dhruv and Cris recounting numerous instances from the film that continue to prove elusive even after three or four viewings.

Listen to the full episode to hear us wax lyrical about Denis' subtle lyricism and her whole-hearted embrace of fragmented, elliptical storytelling. These formal and narrative transgressions, we argue, are what make "Beau Travail" an unforgettable, radical queer text.

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00 - 02:56]

Claire Denis - [02:57 - 08:06]

Herman Melville's "Billy Budd, Sailor" & Jean-Luc Godard's "Le Petit Soldat" - [08:06 - 12:20]

"Beau Travail" - [12:20 - 01:34:55]

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Audio Excerpts -

1. "Beau Travail Re-Release" Trailer

2. Tarkan's "Kiss Kiss" (1997)

3. Franky Vincent's "Tourment D'Amour" (1991)

4. Corona's "The Rhythm of the Night" (1993)