Danish director Gabriel Axel wrote and directed based on a story by Karen Blixen (penname Isak Dinesen). A remote and narrow village, a group of poor and simple villagers, a pair of pious and abstinent sisters, so peaceful and serene, but also lifeless. The arrival of the French maid Babette caused ripples in the life of the small village, and the climax was undoubtedly the gluttonous French meal-it turned out that life can still be lived like this.
The film has a strong religious complex, telling people that material enjoyment and inner beliefs do not necessarily conflict, and the two can even complement each other. But if you put aside the category of religion, just look at the relationship between material foundation and (broader) spiritual pursuits. Under their father’s instruction, the sisters rejected the suitor and gave up their talents, but they were helpless in the face of the increasingly discordant voices in the church. They were pure-hearted and regarded sensory stimulation as scourges, but they did not expect to finally make everyone suddenly open. It is the luxurious dinner carefully prepared by Babette. The movie uses the tone of two men looking back on the past to point out the glitz and illusion of fame and wealth, and at the same time it shows the positive effect of wine and wine on the sublimation of people's thoughts. On the whole, it actually wants to emphasize asceticism and hedonism. Compromise and harmony-do not be a slave to material things, nor refuse to enjoy life.
Almost all the first 15 minutes of the film are narrated in the form of narration, as if telling an ancient legend; after leaving a suspense of a French maid, 35 years later, Babette appeared on the 30th minute; in a blink of an eye it was 14 again. Years have passed, and the film (worthy of the name) spent the whole second half of the time showing the preparation and enjoyment of the Babette dinner. Not to mention that the guests gradually discarded the interesting change of dogma in the process of tasting the food. The meticulous record of the craftsmanship of the delicacies can be called a perfect French cooking promotional film. In the end, Babette's true identity, her dedication and the news of her decision made the audience walk out of the theater with a knowing smile.
The film won the 1987 Oscar and BAFTA Best Foreign Language Film. However, due to the earlier Golden Globe Awards, the film was nominated for the Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film the following year, and it lost to another Danish film "Pelle the Conqueror". It is worth mentioning that the latter also won the Oscar for the best foreign language film that year, making Denmark the first time to win the award. In Denmark, the film also easily won the Bodil Award and Robert Award for Best Picture.
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