Babette’s Feast

Originally published on social media on January 22nd, 2023

Watching this film was a beautiful experience, as I was able to engage in all of my favorite art forms — film, history, music, and the art of cooking. IMDB describes this film as being about a Danish village— specifically two sisters— that take in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War.

In the first half of the film, you get to observe various men fall in love with the preacher’s daughters, and witness how strict religion prevents the sisters from ever following their hearts desires. In the second half, you witness a meal being served to the now elderly daughters and their community made by the French maid (Babette).Babette pays for this special meal herself using the money she won in the lottery.

What a lovely thought.
As I write this review, I can’t help but daydream and drool over the kind of feast I would create and the ingredients I would use if I won the lottery. Watching Babette create her feast is magnificent. There are ingredients or methods of cooking featured that are not common in America. I do wish I could un-see the chopped off cow’s head, yet I still appreciate the culture and history I experienced watching this film. Another dynamic is added to this story when you think about an elderly generation who lived in poverty their entire lives experiencing a luxurious meal for the first time ever.

In many ways, this film is heartbreaking, but not the kind of heartbreak that will make you reevaluate your life & your priorities. You see beautiful art is many forms, but you also see untapped potential & sorrow that come from living a life too strict & too religious. What a shame to feel that enjoying taste is a sin. Why did God give taste buds if not to enjoy flavors?

I will leave you with my favorite quote from the film & one of the most romantic things I have ever heard spoken in film:

“You must also know that I shall be with you every day that is granted to me from now on. Every evening I shall sit down to dine with you. Not with my body, which is of no importance, but with my soul. Because this evening I have learned, my dear, that in this beautiful world of ours, all things are possible.”