'Babette's Feast' next Thursday!
Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 2:22PM 
Thank you for voting in the readers poll about what movie we should talk about next week (Thursday March 23rd). So please watch Babette's Feast (1987) before that day. It's only 102 minutes long which used to be a normal movie length but now will feel like a short film! The Oscar-winning foodie classic is currently streaming on both HBOMax and Criterion and is also available to rent on most platforms if you don't have those services.
Somehow I've never seen it despite being a) really into Scandinavian things b) obsessed with the Best International Feature Film category and c) fascinated that Denmark has become Hollywood's "favourite" country other than Germany in the past two decades (if this keeps up those two countries will be to the 21st century what Italy/France were to the Oscars of the 20th century)
Reader Comments (10)
And it stars Chabrol's first diva, Stephane Audran. His second muse was, of course, Isabelle Huppert, who turned 70 this week (there's still time for a retrospective)
IMHO, an underrated Foreign Language Film winner frequently overshadowed by a more well-known fellow nominee (AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS).
My personal ranking of the category:
1. France - Au Revoir, Les Enfants
2. Norway - Pathfinder
3. Denmark - Babette's Feast
4. Spain - Course Completed
5. Italy - The Family
I prefer West Germany's WINGS OF DESIRE over the bottom two.
Great choice.
Can't wait.
I love this film. A warning, however. The food porn aspect can make some viewers hungry. Since preparing the feast is out of the question for the majority of us, I suggest a favorite cheese and a favorite wine to curb your appetite during the screening.
Don't watch it hungry.
Saw this for the first time less than 15 months ago (Dec 2021) due to a random movie-watching prompt of "Watch a movie that has to do with food" and a friend recommended this to me.
Wow, Juan Carlos, I completely agree. I think about Au Revoir, Les Enfants and even Pathfinder much more often than Babette's Feast, which I sort of lump together with things like Belle Epoque and Like Water For Chocolate, don't hate me.
In any case, it's a good one for Nathaniel since it is sort of at the intersection of France and Denmark as I recall. A passing of the torch from one country to another perhaps? And at least it will make anyone appreciate how expensive and time consuming an amazing meal can be!
What Lenard said.
A very charming if not particularly challenging little movie - I do think of it from time to time as it's a favorite of my parents.
Dave, I know what you're saying, but I think it's much better than Chocolat.
Nathaniel you’ll love it! It’s one of those great films that I just can’t imagine anyone not liking. It’s charming, horny for food, and I’ve gone back to the Wikipedia page numerous times because it has a section just about the menu that I love to drool over.
Beauty wins.