The French actor Denis Lavant has the dance moves of drag royalty and the face of a man on death row, and it says something great about France that people are falling over each other to give him parts. He is incredible in Beau Travail (1999), not to be confused with Beau Geste (1926, 1939, 1966, etc.), although the 1999 title is obviously a riff – "beautiful gesture" versus "beautiful work." Both Beaux are about drama in the French Foreign Legion, but the resemblance ends there.

You could spend a...