This movie begins in a straightforward manner. Scenes of a nightclub in the African city of Djibouti are followed by an introduction by narrator Galoup (Denis Lavant). He is a former Sergeant Major with the French Foreign Legion who has been court-martialed in France for cruel treatment of a subordinate. The rest of the film takes place in flashbacks and details the events leading up to Galoup's punishment. His downfall occurs because of jealousy and an attraction he has for Gilles Sentain (Grégoire Colin), a handsome new recruit admired by everyone in the troop. Repressed homosexual feelings are strongly suggested. The tensions between the two thicken when Galoup moves the cadets further inland and gives them difficult tasks under the pretext that they are building a road. However, his primary motive is to get away from Commander Bruno Forestier (Michel Subor) in order to confront Sentain without any repercussions. When Sentain helps another soldier, violating Galoup's orders, Galoup sees a chance to destroy him. As a punishment, Galoup drives him out into the desert to make him walk back to the base. But Sentain doesn't return because Galoup has tampered with his compass. Even though Sentain is later found and rescued, Galoup is sent back to France for a court martial. The final scene suggests the possibility of his suicide.
Loosely based on Herman Melville's novella "Billy Budd", this film has a simple plot and not much dialogue. It relies heavily on music to carry the story, from French hip-hop to opera and disco. Parts of the soundtrack are from the opera by Benjamin Britten also based on Melville's novella. The very obvious gay sub-text is strengthened by the homoerotic images of muscular hunky men sweating in the sun, swimming in the ocean, and climbing walls with the contours of their bodies shown with much detail. Written by Jean-Pol Fargeau and Claire Denis, who also directed. The English title is "Good Work", but the language is French with no subtitles
