GamerTab That was an excellent one.

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

GazerRise Fantastic!

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

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.

sharky_55 A grandmother, I presume, narrates Babette's Feast with a fairytale-like presence and charm. It is old fashioned like that, based on the short story from Karen Blixen, and the two central sisters reflect this. Flashbacks establish their devout nature and piousness. Martine is courted by a young soldier, handsome and ambitious, who later becomes an important figure in the Queen's court. Philippa by a marvellously talented singer whom has become depressed by the constant travel and only wants to settle down. The scenes of their duet and how they engage in love songs are terribly romantic, except for Philippa's expression, clearly uncomfortable by even the mere lyrics and implied sinful notions they carry (although there is a suggestion that this might be significantly from her puritan perspective - otherwise how would Papin be so sure of sending them Babette?). They live up to their Protestant figurehead namesakes that their dear father/pastor must have lovingly bestowed them; Martin Luther King and Philipp Melanchthon. So even as they are beautiful as flowering fruit trees, as they are described, they refrain from falling in love, and plead their allegiance to their father's church. When Babette, a survivor of the Paris Commune, arrives, the church community thanks and praises God for sending them this gift so that the sisters may continue to spread the good work and tend to the flock. And like so many communities there is invariably discord - accusations of affairs, people cheating other's of their money, lies and dissatisfaction. They are not oblivious to this, but they push it out of their minds for more important, high-minded issues. When Babette declares she is making a French dinner with the works, they hesitantly approve, and then are tentative on the serving of wine. It is a gateway to sin, and Axel emphasises this with a green-tinged nightmare filled with grotesque, satanic imagery fit for Revelations; fiery visions of hell, animals rearing their ugly heads, and the spill of red wine like blood. The feast is the lengthiest segment of the film, and the best. Henning Kristiansen initially establishes the rural, puritan village with a desaturated palette devoid of any idyllic environmental imagery or tempting vices. This reinforces their way of life - bare and plain, like the food that Babette serves the sisters with whatever meagre groceries that she can haggle for. And then he introduces candlelight and lamp, briefly warm in their glow, to accompany the feast. But he does not ramp this up to food porn levels - the ingredients are not exotic splashes of colour to bring life into the lives of the village - that change must come from within. The only out of place shot is the one immediately after the cathartic meal, the almost storybook scene of the endlessly beautiful starry night that looks upon their dance and song. This seems deliberately so, as if to over-highlight a new outlook on life. What many have not touched on is how funny Babette's Feast can be. The villagers all agree to shut out out temptations and refuse to comment on the food, no matter how good it is. The only one that is from a different perspective is Lorens, who has the expertise and freedom to do so. And he does too, marvelling at each course and dish and lavishing the flavours and combinations. The humour comes from the other dinner guests, who most evidently feel the same way about the food as he does, but do not want to admit it. Instead they chime awkwardly in with religious recitations that fall on deaf ears and gross, offended looks at the sinful gluttony that is occurring right beside them. The food continues to be served (in a way that is reminiscent of Big Night, and how the courses overwhelm the guests) and there is a slow epiphany. Old feuds are forgiven and forgotten, lost love is rekindled. The film is not anti-religious in any way, but serves up a tale that is able to rouse even the most pious to slurp and suck every last drop and swallow every last bite with relish. Babette may have nothing left, but ironically it is her that has gained and dished out the spiritual fulfilment, and they are all full, and so is the audience.

Hotwok2013 Based on the book by Karen Blixen, this thought-provoking Danish film "Babette's Feast" is a feast for the eyes, the heart & the soul & I would have no hesitation in proclaiming it to be one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Set in the 19th century in a remote village on the Jutland coast of Denmark, it stars French actress Stephane Audran as Babette Hersant. She is a refugee from civil war-torn France who has lost her family & just about everything else in the conflict. She has been sent there by a male opera singer star Achille Papin who had visited this bleak village 35 years earlier. During this vacation he visits the local village church where he is struck by the voice of one of two beautiful sisters, Martine & Filippa, singing in the congregation. The sisters father is the priest conducting the service there. The opera star asks permission from the young woman's father to give his daughter Filippa voice-training lessons. During these singing lessons of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni", he fully realises she is a great singer & falls in love with her. It is his intention to marry her & take her back to his home in Paris where he thinks she has the talent to become a great opera diva. However, Filippa decides she does not want to leave home & will remain with her beloved sister & father. Earlier, Filippa's sister Martine has also rejected the chance of love & marriage to a young Polish army officer. Some thirty-five years later, after the death of their father, the destitute Babette arrives at the village one cold, wind-swept, rainy night carrying a letter from Monsieur Papin. His letter says she is an excellent cook & housekeeper but the sisters tell her they cannot take her into their home since they cannot afford to pay for her employment. Babette is desperate & offers to work for nothing & so is taken in & given a home. Babette becomes a loyal & trusted servant to the two sisters. Later, she wins 10,000 francs in a lottery & decides to spend the money on a lavish meal for the two sisters & the local villagers as payment in gratitude to the people who had shown her such kindness. Unknown to the sisters Babette is, in fact, a former head chef at the "Cafe Anglais" a top-notch restaurant in Paris. This great film covers a wide range of subjects but is, ultimately I think, about faith & redemption. To even begin to understand it or fully appreciate it, it simply has to be seen. It's director Gabriel Axel died last year & the authoress Karen Blixen died back in 1962 so you cannot ask either of them about its true meaning. Notwithstanding, this is a stunning piece of work!!!.

Jackson Booth-Millard Featuring in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I knew it was a Danish film I was going to watch no matter what, and it did sound really appealing as I found out more about it. Basically, set in the 19th Century, Denmark, adult sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) are spinsters living with their father, the founder of a strict Christian sect, in an isolated village. They have the opportunity in moments to leave the village and find another good life, but they stay loyal to their father, serving him in his church. Soon enough French refugee Babette Hersant (BAFTA nominated Stéphane Audran) comes knocking at their door begging them to let her stay with them, and serving as their maid, housekeeper and cook to earn her keep. The sisters' father has been dead for some time, and they decide to commemorate the one hundredth year of his birth, and this will see a group of friends invited for dinner, and this gives Babette a great opportunity to prove herself. She implores them to let her prepare the meal that they will eat at this celebration, and they do agree, but secretly they have their concerns for what food she will be serving them, and seeing the preparations of the food worries them as well, such as dead animals being used. They also worry because she is a foreigner that will have different tastes, and while they are Christian she is Catholic, but they let her carry on. It comes to the evening of the feast, and the guests attending are the members of the small church and important gentlemen, including General Lorens Löwenhielm (Jarl Kulle), and they are also relatively unsure what they will think of the food on offer. Babette serves them turtle soup with amontillado (sherry), buckwheat cakes with caviar and sour cream, quail in puff pastry shell with foie gras and truffle sauce, a salad featuring Belgian chicory and walnuts in a vinaigrette, "Les Fromages" featuring blue cheese, papaya, figs, grapes, pineapple, and pomegranate, and rum sponge cake with figs and glacéed fruits, with numerous rare wines. The feast is a tremendous success, and it is only afterwards that Babette reveals that she was in fact the famous former Chef of the Café Anglais, but she presumably stays with the sisters instead of returning to Paris. Also starring Jean-Philippe Lafont as Achille Papin, Gudmar Wivesson as Young Lorens Löwenhielm, Bibi Andersson as Svensk Hofdame, Hanne Stensgaard as Young Filippa and Vibeke Hastrup as Young Martine. The acting is relatively good, and it is an interesting enough story, but I will be honest, the best scenes are of course that the feast, the preparations are good viewing, and the guests enjoying the food served makes for a nice result, as it changes all their lives or whatever, all in all it is an entertaining period drama. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it won the BAFTA for Best Film not in the English Language, and it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Direction for Gabriel Axel, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Very good!