Babette’s Feast
Under a lavender sky, the gentle waves of the blue sea brush against the sandy shore of the Jutland coast of Denmark. The sea wind blows over the dunes and through the seaside village of modest thatched-roof dwellings. The northern sun’s rays streaming in the windows illuminate a serene, Vermeer-like picture, set in muted earth tones.
Here, two sisters, Marina and Filippa, live with their father, a minister and prophet. He is the founder of a small Protestant sect whose message speaks of benevolent grace and mercy. Over time a collection of his sermons and their influence will reach far beyond the village.
This elderly gentleman expects his daughters to help him administer to the community to the exclusion of all other pursuits, a task they take up with loving devotion. The father’s message is personified in these two young women as they feed the poor and care for the sick with graceful strides, soft words, and serene smiles.
Meanwhile, far away, a young cadet, Lorens Lowenhielm, with all the privileges his affluent father can provide for him, lives an undisciplined and careless life. Unable to steer his son in the direction of a cultured and enterprising existence, the father sends Lorens to contemplate his shortcomings at his aunt’s home near the little village.
Riding into the village on horseback, Lorens sees Marina and falls in love with her. As he watches her in her unassuming and devote ways, he realizes the unworthiness of his careless existence and vows to return to duty with the dedication to make the most of his life.
Later, an opera singer, Achille Papin, in need of rest, arrives in the little village, hears Filippa singing in church and falls in love with her. Convinced that by his side he can guide her to a life of fame in the opera, he asks the minister’s permission to give Filippa singing lessons. When Achille’s duet turns to love, Filippa becomes overwhelmed with unfamiliar feelings and puts an end to the lessons. Achille leaves for Paris heartbroken.
Decades later, in September of 1871 during a rain storm, Babette (Stephane Audran) arrives on the sisters’ doorstep. Fleeing the civil war in France, she is exhausted in body and weary at heart. She bears a letter from Achille Papin asking the sisters to take Babette into their home because in France, where her husband and son have been killed, danger followers her.
The sisters have no funds to hire a French servant and certainly never had the thought of such an extravagance. But Babette pleads to let her serve them without compensation. The sisters agree, and soon Babette becomes a blessing to them. She handles the heavy chores and proves to be thrifty with the household money. Her skill in the kitchen makes a surprising improvement in the quality of their meals. For fourteen years Babette works alongside the sisters, never asking for anything.
At a gathering of the villagers, Marina and Filippa announce that they will hold a celebration in memory of their father’s one hundredth birthday. His flock has become edgy and quarrelsome since the minister’s death, interrupting the meeting with old grievances and accusations. The sisters seem powerless to stop their bickering. With a sharp rebuke, Babette regains order - for a while.
While Babette lives in Denmark, a friend renews her lottery ticket every year in Paris. When Babette receives a letter containing a large sum of winnings, she asks the sisters if she might prepare a dinner party for their upcoming celebration. The sisters agree. But when Babette brings strange goods into their home, they fear they and their guests will be exposed to dangerous influences from the wicked concoctions of this Catholic woman.
Life can conspire to make strange and wonderful things happen to unsuspecting people. Babette has a secret. With the help of Lorens, General Lowenhielm, we learn how Babette’s gift resurrects the minister’s message and brings harmony to the village people at a lavish dinner for the faithful twelve.
Babette’s Feast is a sweet and delicate tale that brings comforting messages to its viewers. Life can be lived with grace and beauty whether that life has been chosen or has been assigned by fate. A virtuous life can be lived by the humble and the privileged. It is never too late to forgive others, never too late to ask for our own forgiveness, and never too late to forgive ourselves.
Babette has the ability to make people happy. And she knows that soothing others with acts of kindness will bring peace and harmony at the closing of the day. Babette’s gift proclaims that belief in the benevolence of life and the goodness of others is the bounty most worthy of celebration.
Filippa is played by Hanne Stensgaard as a young woman and by Bodil Kjer as an older woman. Martine is played by Vibeke Hastrup and by Birgitte Federspiel. The excellent acting by these four women brings a remarkable transition of the characters’ later years to the flashback of their younger years and back again. The fresh faces of the young sisters with their innocent and trustful demeanor are carried through the years to the faces of the older sisters.
Based on a short story by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), Babette’s Feast won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Babette’s Menu - where culinary and spiritual bliss merge
Turtle Soup - Amontillado, dry Spanish Sherry
Blini with Caviar & Sour Cream - Veuve Clicquot Champagne
Quail in Sarcophage - Clos de Vougeot, red Burgundy
Endive Salad
Imported Cheeses
Cake
Fruit
Coffee - Champagne