Based on Isak Dinesen's novel, this is a
literary adaptation thatmakes the transition to screen with
grace and dignity, matching every word of the book with a
moment, an image or a sound.
The story is a simple one, uncomplicated and
unfussed. Babette has worked for her sisters all her life. When
she wins the lottery, she decides to celebrate by throwing a
huge dinner party for all the entire village. Starting from that
simple premise the story of Babette, her employers, and the
residents of the village are told. We are shown the attitudes,
peculiarities and ways of the village folk as they all prepare
for Babette's Feast.
Babette was a French chef of the highest
calibre, exiled to the Scandinavian coast after the French
uprising of 1871. In exile, she proceeded to look after two
elderly spinsters. The community revolves around the strict,
puritan religious sect (whose members are no longer seeing eye
to eye) and the sea, whose violent, dark force casts its shadow
over all their lives. For a community used to pickled herring, a
10000 franc gastronomic event to end all gastronomic events
comes as a shock. This is where the film really scores.
Sumptuous to the eye, it is one of those films that makes you
wish for taste-o-rama technology. The portrayal of Babette's
preparations for the event and the care she takes in creating
the feast, are as gloriously studied as the consumption of the
food itself. I wish I was sitting at that table now
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