Babette’s Feast won the 1987 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It’s also the first Danish film to win an Academy Award. Basically, the story is straight-forward: an inspirational minister and his two beautiful daughters live in a rural Danish town in the 19th Century. The movie then shows what happens when the minister dies and his sect dwindles. The beautiful daughters, who had opportunities to live and marry, are now old and white-haired–and alone. Through a twist of fate, a French woman joins their small community. The French woman, Babette, shows the community what Real Life and real French cooking are like. I enjoyed this story of decisions made and opportunities lost. Many viewers will consider Babette’s Feast too slow, but its leisurely pace is part of its charm. GRADE: B
Great movie and it points out one of the big differences between Hollywood and European cinema I think – one’s about cooking, the other is about eating 🙂
Sergio, your distinction is right on the money! I watched BABETTE’S FEAST after watching CHEF. I need to go on a diet now!
I loved this when I first saw it but have never seen it since. I am at the mercy of it being shown on Netflix.
Patti, the Blu-ray Criterion version is eye-popping. Eventually, everything will be available on Netflix. They’re like GOOGLE, they want to completely dominate their market.
I must admit, I’ve never seen it. We’ve been watching a lot of foreign language films lately so may look for it.
Jeff, BABETTE’S FEAST is a visual feast in Blu-ray. The pacing is slow, but the overall message of lost chances still resonates.
So the message is if you don’t get married when you’re young you’ll be old and lonely? Sorry, not buying that. Looks like a pretty film, though.
Rick, one of the messages of BABETTE’S FEAST is to enjoy life in the moment and not defer it to an uncertain future.