Galoup (Denis Lavant), ex-officer in the French Foreign Legion, lives a tough but contented life in the Gulf of Djibouti until the arrival of a young recruit, Sentain, arouses in him a burning jealousy. Based on a short story by Melville, Beau travail draws out the banality and isolation of daily life in the legion, as the recruits occupy themselves with military exercises conducted under a scorching sun. In her best-loved work, Denis films the human body sensually, in a style that is closer to poetry than narrative. A film about neither war nor love, culminating in one of the most beautiful dance scenes in the history of contemporary cinema.