Babette's Feast (1987)

During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.

Director:

Gabriel Axel

Writers:

Karen Blixen (short story), Gabriel Axel (screenplay)

Stars:

Stéphane Audran, Bodil Kjer, Birgitte Federspiel

Won 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stéphane Audran	...	Babette Hersant (as Stephane Audran)
Bodil Kjer	...	Filippa
Birgitte Federspiel	...	Martine
Jarl Kulle	...	General Lorens Löwenhielm / Löwenhielm's Father
Jean-Philippe Lafont	...	Achille Papin (as Jean Philippe Lafont)
Bibi Andersson	...	Swedish Lady-in-Waiting
Ghita Nørby	...	Narrator (voice)
Asta Esper Hagen Andersen	...	Anna (as Asta Esper Andersen)
Thomas Antoni	...	Swedish Lieutenant
Gert Bastian	...	Poor Man
Viggo Bentzon	...	Fisherman in Rowboat
Vibeke Hastrup	...	Young Martine
Therese Højgaard Christensen	...	Martha - Father's Maid
Pouel Kern	...	Pastor
Cay Kristiansen	...	Poul

Storyline

In a remote 19th-century Danish 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. Their father objected in each case, and they spent their lives caring for him. Many years later - their father is now deceased - they take in French refugee, Babette Hersant, who agrees to work as their servant. After winning the lottery, Babette wants to repay the sisters for their kindness and offers to cook a French meal for them and their friends on the 100th anniversary of their father's birth. It proves to be an eye-opening experience for everyone.

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Plot Keywords:

cooking | feast | mother son relationship | piano | gourmet | 

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Taglines:

Artistic, sensual and sacred passions unite in Babette's Feast.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish French Swedish Italian English

Release Date:

4 March 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Babette's Feast

Filming Locations:

Vigsø, Thisted Kommune, Jylland, Denmark

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,398,938

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,637,920

Company Credits

Production Co:

Panorama Film A/S, Nordisk Film, Det Danske Filminstitut

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original novella is set in the Norwegian village of Berlevag. Gabriel Axel stayed very close to the original source, but he felt the original setting had become too colourful and pretty to evoke the bleakness described by Blixen. He transposed the setting to Jutland in his native Denmark, where he had the wooden village houses built.

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Goofs

General Löwenhielm calls the appetizer Blinis Demidoff. First, Blinis is not a word; in Russian, Blini is the plural of Blin, which is a large, crepe-like buckwheat pancake that is typically rolled around a filling. Second, those are not Blini; they are Oladiy, which are the smaller, thicker buckwheat pancakes on which caviar is typically served.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[in Danish, using English subtitles]
Narrator: In this remote spot there once lived two sisters who were both past the first flush of youth. They had been christened Martina and Philippa after Martin Luther and his friend Philipp Melanchton. They spent all their time and almost all their small income on good works.

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Connections

Edited into Eventyret om dansk film 18: Nye perspektiver - 1970-1987 (1996)

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Soundtracks

Waltz in A flat Op.39 No.15, arranged for orchestra
(uncredited)
Written by Johannes Brahms
Played during the dance hosted by the Royal family

User Reviews

Good Things (like a great meal) Come To Those Who Wait

If you find the first 30 minutes of this film to be so slow that you wonder why you're watching it, don't give up. Also, hearing the Danish language is a bit new to most North Americans, who don't see and hear a lot of Danish films. Anyway, as the film progressed it got better and better and the viewer is rewarded for his/her patience.

Being a fan of the movie, "Out Of Africa," this film piqued my interest because it's based on a short novel by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), the major character in that film.

The meal - Babette's feast - was amazing. I'm no chef, but I was impressed! How one interprets the story, too, varies, I suppose depending on how much you read into this, and where you stand religion-wise. If the latter, how you look at the definition of "legalism" can affect how you interpret this story.

In any case, it's a fine film, but don't watch this if you're dieting.