Babette's Feast (1988)

I like food. There, I've said it. In a society obsessed with either parceling out each meager calorie or splurging on sugary, prepackaged excess, Babette's Feast is a delight of measured restraint, bounty, and artistry. Wait, am I talking about food anymore?Not really. On a number of levels, this leisurely film is very unusual. There's a long period of set-up, as we learn about Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Filippa (Bodil Kjer), the beautiful daughters of a strict minister who lives on the coast of Jutland in Denmark (they're named after Martin Luther and Philip Melanchton, if that tells you anything.)We follow them as they are courted by a soldier and an opera singer, two wayward but sincere outsiders, wooed by the women's kindness and beauty. Ultimately, both sisters reject these men in their devotion to a simple life, lending this first act a feeling of regret and memory. These memories spring up once again many years later when one of the erstwhile suitors sends Babette (Stephane Audran, Brideshead Revisited), a French refugee, to shelter with the two elderly sisters. Uncertain at first (after all, having a servant is an indulgence), Martine and Filippa grow to love Babette, who lends her cooking skills to their ministry. All of this is much welcomed by the congregation, who happily exchange gruel for thick, savory porridge.That's the bare bones of the plot, which is both much less and much more than this simple summary. It is a long, gracefully shot film with a subtle undercurrent of humor among its eccentric, endearing characters.It delves into questions of sacrifice and rejoicing, art and possession, generosity and joy. It is joy, the joy of giving, creating, and receiving, the joy of cooking and eating, which most defines the story, in the same way that the joy of running defined Chariots of Fire or the joy of flying Empire of the Sun, or the joy of fishing A River Runs Through It. And like the joy in those films, it is a palpable thing, an otherworldly ecstasy, and it allows the characters to work their way, without easy compromises, through a history of regret and sadness, into a future of hope.All this in a film about cooking? Well, no. I'm not really talking about food anymore.P.S. Fans of Carl Theodor Dreyer's Ordet may notice two members of the cast reunited in Birgitte Federspiel and Preben Lerdorff Rye.Review originally posted at Longview: http://www.longview95.blogspot.com/2014/07/babettes-feast-movie- review.html

Babette's Feast (1987)This movie made my eyes damp a few times.It takes place in a small village on the west coast of Denmark, where two spinster sisters carry on their deceased father's spiritual work.Babette comes to the village after her family is killed in a French revolt.She cooks for the sisters, mainly fish soup and bread mixed with ale.The after 14 years, Babette receives a letter saying she was won the French lottery -$10,000 francs.The two sisters had planned a dinner party to honor what would have been their father's 100th birthday.Babette decides to spend her lottery money by cooking a real French dinner with many courses for the occasion.She sends for what she needs, which includes a large live turtle, a dozen live baby quails, the finest wines and champagne, truffles and much other stuff.When the sisters see the big turtle on the kitchen counter they react as if it were the devil's food, and pre-warn their guests not to mention the food at the party.The day arrives, and shows Babette cooking each dish and desert, and has a neighbor boy serve the table. Before the third course is served the guests are melted in culinary ecstasy.Alas, the movie is sub titled.Garry

This may be one of my top ten films; at least it's close. I think the beauty of it is that the setup is so low key; the events so inconsequential. Yet those events leading to the final feast are so incredibly well introduced and the characters so incredibly interesting. It also gives us that theme of redemption. This is a chance for a person who has gone through life unnoticed to push her gifts to the maximum and have that one great moment. We get to watch as things unfold. We get to absorb the history that leads to this moment. Of course, without wonderful performances it wouldn't work. When it's over, we feel fulfilled. The world isn't much different than when we entered; but then we all are here for a short time. The mark of a good movie for me is that I occasionally think back on scenes and events long after seeing the film. This is one of them. It's more than worth every moment.

Lovely, literate, gentle film-making. A tale of passions and art thwarted and brought to life, with lovely photography, and solid performances. The charming story of two spinster sisters in a dour, religious Danish town who take in a French political refugee. After years of working for these women, with gratitude and gentleness, but little expressed emotion, the woman (Stephane Audran) uses lottery money she wins not to return to France, or to start her own life, but to create a feast, bringing back her own lost artistry as one of France's great chefs. In spite of their promise not to get swept up in the food, the locals slowly succumb to it's sublime mix of the sacred and the sensual. All of this is sweet, interesting, entertaining and well told, but for me there's also something a tiny bit thin about it. It feels like a short story stretched to feature length (which it is), and I didn't find it quite as moving emotionally as I wished. Many like it more than me, but to me it's a lovely, well-told, worthwhile film, but not quite a great one.