agmtw logo
search

Babette's Feast (1987)

Babette's Feast (1987)

The Very Best

8.3

Is there anything to be gained from a life of modesty?

Movie

d, Denmark
Danish, French, Hungarian
Comedy, Drama
1987

What it's about

A French housekeeper with a mysterious past brings quiet revolution in the form of one exquisite meal to a circle of starkly pious villagers in late 19th century Denmark.

The take

Sisters Martine and Filippa, daughters of a founder of a religious sect, live a simple and quiet life in a remote coastal village in Denmark. Throughout the course of their lives, they reject possible romances and fame as part of their commitment to deny earthly attachments. This is upended by the sudden arrival of a French immigrant named Babette, who served as their house help to escape the civil war raging in her country. Babette’s Feast is an inquiry into simplicity and kindness, and whether these would be sufficient to achieve a life of contentment. The religious undertones perfectly fit with the film’s parable-like structure, where bodily and spiritual appetites are satisfied through a sumptuous feast of love, forgiveness, and gratitude.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Anora (2024)

An exciting and heartbreaking fairy tale with a modern, class-centric twist

9.0

My Old Ass (2024)

A pleasant mix of comedy and coming-of-age that may or may not leave you in tears

8.0

Cold War (2018)

A quiet Polish masterpiece with ravishing music and dazzling visuals

9.2

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

A romance from France like no other

8.2

The Intouchables (2012)

An all-arounder French comedy-drama based on a true story

9.6

My King (2015)

A lover heals her knee and her heart in this contemplative drama about co-dependency

7.0

The African Doctor (2016)

A feel-good story of one French village’s first African family

7.2

A Man Called Ove (2015)

A charming Swedish rendition of the quintessential grumpy-old-man-turns-into-loveable-neighbor tear-jerker trope

9.0

Rust and Bone (2012)

8.1

The Secret of the Grain (2007)

The saga of one immigrant's life in Southern France

8.5

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.