Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

daoldiges Babette's Feast takes place in a very stark, cold, and bleak landscape that somehow manages to look quite beautiful. There is minimal dialogue. The characters for most of the film not only don't speak much, but they also don't offer up much in the way of non-verbal/physical expression either (until the end). Yet somehow this film engaged and moved me very much. The story is simple and yet thought provoking and one of the best film depictions of food as a major catalyst. I thoroughly enjoyed Babette's Feast.

grantss Denmark, 1870s. Two deeply religious elderly sisters living in an isolated village take in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian war, Babette. She becomes their housekeeper and is happy to work for no pay. 14 years later, Babette wins a large amount of money in a lottery. The event coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the sisters' father, a devout Christian minister who had a great following in the village. Babette decides to throw a great dinner for the the remaining followers to honour the occasion. One thing: the dinner will be French and once the ingredients start to arrive, the unsophisticated villagers suspect that something unholy is about to take place.Based on a short story by Karen Blixen (of Out Of Africa fame), this is an engaging, though not overly profound, movie. Starts slowly, showing the sisters' back story and building to the present day. The back story seems unnecessary initially, especially as it seems to wander and add nothing to the overall plot. However, the past, especially the characters therein, will have an important impact on the present.The movie hits its stride in the second half, especially once Babette wins the lottery. A few themes start to emerge and the story becomes more engaging. An important shift takes place, in that the focus moves from the sisters to Babette, and this makes things much more interesting.Unfortunately, the themes that emerge don't lead to anything too profound. I had visions of a powerful examination of how people's prejudices prevent them from enjoying life's simple pleasures, or how great art/food is lost on simple folk, but nothing really came of those.Ultimately, an interesting story, lacking a powerful conclusion. Will make you very hungry though - the food looks fantastic!Won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988.

gavin6942 In a remote 19th Danish century village two sisters lead a rigid life centered around their father, the local minister, and their church. Both had opportunities to leave the village: one could have married a young army officer and the other, a French opera singer.Upon its release in 1987, "Babette's Feast" received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The film won the 1987 Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. It also received the BAFTA Film Award for Best Film Not in the English Language. In Denmark, it won both the Bodil and Robert awards for Best Danish Film of the Year. The film was nominated and/or won several other awards including a Golden Globe nomination, the Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association) award and a Cannes Film Festival special prize.Pope Francis identified "Babette's Feast" as his favorite film. Of all the films out there, this is the one he picked. After the film's release, several restaurants offered recreations of the film's menu. In "The Archers", Jennifer Aldridge hosted a party to celebrate the installation of her new kitchen where the food was inspired by "Babette's Feast".This really is the finest example of modern Danish cinema. We tend to think of Scandinavia as a dark, sad place... few directors are really known internationally from there, besides perhaps Bergman and Dreyer. Today, of course, we have von Trier, but it seems that "Babette's Feast" must have opened a few doors.

Chevy Battaglia As someone who has read the short story by Isak Dineson along with the movie, I agree with many others that this movie is not simply a "foodie flick," but offers a psychological and religious depth perspective on the life of a woman who's lost everything near and dear to her and how she manages to rise above her grievous losses. The book portrays Babette as a dark, formidable presence in the lives of Martina and Philippa. Axel downplays this aspect, but does maintain it in subtle ways. Axel does go beyond Dineson's portrayal by suggesting Babette is a kind of Christ figure. For more on these themes, a simple online search for critical articles about the movie yields many fine writings (see esp. the Journal of Religion and Film and the Carl Jung page).