Babette's Feast

On a Scale of 1 to 10 with 10 Being the Best

3

Plot: Two pious sisters, who live in a remote village in the 19th Century, have a French cook named Babette. These two sisters care for the poor villagers and do much better with Babette helping them. The sister's father was the town reverend and the villagers all loved him; in order to celebrate his would-have-been 100th birthday, they decide to have a party. Babette begs the sisters to let her cook, not a Danish meal, but a French one. This film has to do with religion, food, art, and I guess...awkwardness? This movie is alright but I just felt it was so time consuming. I failed to see the connections at times between characters and they spent forever trying to "explain" them. 

*PLEASE NOTE* That this movie is not in English but in Swedish, French, and Danish. You will want subtitles on when watching this. 

Characters/Actors of Note:

Stephane Audran playing Babette Hersant: In the film, Babette has to flee from France because of the French Revolution. Due to an obscure connection, she is able to live with the sisters, Filippa and Martine. This lady comes off as thrifty, smart, and straight forward. If she wants it done, it will get done whether others like it or not. I did like Ms. Audran cast as this character as she indeed looked the part. This woman had to be a little torn-up and tough and that is how she appeared. I also appreciated her coolness and professionalism. Good casting.

Jarl Kulle playing General Lorens Lowenhielm: This character confused me. Lorens is a soldier who is sent to his aunt's for misbehaving. His aunt's house is in the dumpy little village where Filippa and Martine live. It is love at first sight and he wiggles his way into the congregation. The issue is...well I didn't understand frankly. He was having supper with them and got up and left. When he talked to his friends about his "love affair" he states that the world is cruel and impossible. Many years later, the sister invite him to the 100th Anniversary, and he states after the meal that life is good and possible. I think I just missed on a culture cue during both the suppers to get where he was coming from.

Bodil Kjer playing Filippa and Birgitte Federspiel playing Martine: To be honest, I kept forgetting which sister was which in this movie. They hardly spoke and others hardly spoke to them. I was confused on how they kept breaking people's hearts when THEY NEVER LEFT THE HOUSE, except to go to church of course. I was also confused on what religion they were. The movie mentioned Catholics, but their father was married and had them, which would suggest otherwise. They had a crucifix but often sang instead of praying. Their religion also forbid eating anything delicious or drinking alcohol. To sum-up, I was more concerned with who they were because I didn't have a clue.

Music: The few times there were music were predominately from the sisters and their congregation singing. I was annoyed with how little background music there was. I felt music would have been helpful for the humorous parts of the film, at the very least, but none was to be heard. Quite disappointed with this aspect of the movie.

Camera Work/Cinematography: As with all 80s movies, this film was foggy. The entire movie though wasn't that pleasant to look at. There was no use of shadows, lights, or creative use of color. The director, Gabriel Axel, has been filming movies since the 1950s. This may sound harsh but, I wonder if he was given bad equipment or just wasn't that good of a director. Something more creative should have been done with this film.

RECAP:

I did like the concept of this movie. People coming together with food, forgiving each other, and actually enjoying themselves (although they wouldn't admit it). I found fault in how strung out this movie was. I failed to find real human connections or religious ones. I also wasn't a fan of the cinematography and lack of music, either. An older relative might enjoy this film, but I find it is a bit of a snore. 

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