The "Holy Trinity" of Love, Faith and Food: "Babette's Banquet"

Lukas 2022-01-13 08:01:20

Chua Lam is a filmmaker and a gourmet. It is most appropriate for him to recommend "Gourmet Movies". "Babette's Banquet" is the number one "food movie" in his mind. The reason why "Babette’s Banquet" has become a classic is of course not only because it is the best showcase of "French Feast"-in my opinion, it is a film that combines love, faith, and food. A "gourmet movie" that perfectly blends together.

1. Love

director Gabriel Akshay said: "First of all, it is a romance film from beginning to end. The food is prepared with love to provide a feeling of love for others, and it is also recognized as full of love. "There are
not many scenes showing Martina and Philippa on the front of the film, but only a few, but love is always present and indispensable. Babette came to the sister's house and was "recommended" by the singer Papan. Because of her singing career, Papin must have a very broad friendship. He should have many choices to help Babette escape from the war, but he let her come to this remote village in Denmark and let her use her unparalleled cooking skills. Improved the food for the sisters and the believers they helped-came in a hurry and left with regret, but 35 years later, he still missed Philippa. It can be said that this is purer and deeper than Plato’s love. Love.
Babette’s French feast needs a leader to bring the believers into a better place. This leader is exactly the suitor of his sister Martina, a general who has made contributions. After the general bid farewell to Martina, he worked hard and achieved remarkable results, but goodbye to Martina, to complete a confession that did not forget his original intention is still his unfulfilled wish, so he came.
It can be said that Papan and the general contributed to and achieved the "Babette's Banquet". For decades, they have been guarding this love that has never actually happened in their hearts.

2. Faith

The father of Martina and Philippa was a pastor of the "founding sect", but after his death, his "sect" gradually declined, there were no new believers, and the followers of the year are old and usually participate There are only a few people at the prayer meeting. The sisters are still struggling to maintain, and the discord between the believers makes them exhausted. When their father led this "sect", the believers were friendly and peaceful. It coincided with their father's centennial birthday. They hoped to organize a "Holy Supper" to commemorate their father and bridge the gap between believers. At this time, after N years of perseverance, Babette finally won the lottery prize, and she offered to take care of this "Holy Communion" on her own.
When Babette brought back the unheard of ingredients such as sea turtles and quail, the sisters and the believers were shocked. They felt that this "Holy Supper" would blaspheme their faith, and they decided to resist the temptation with indifference. .
At the beginning of the "Holy Supper", their position was firm, but with the general's guidance, they could no longer ignore their taste buds, and the taste buds continued to penetrate into the soul. In the end, they were conquered. However, after they were captured by the "Holy Communion", what they saw was not Satan. On the contrary, their discord was melted in their mouth and their faith was sublimated in enjoyment. After the banquet, the believers were outside in the snow, holding hands in a circle to sing. It was wonderful and sacred. It was the fruit of the “moisturizing and silent” food, the flash of faith, and the magical brush of the film.
Food is a temptation, but it is by no means an enemy of faith. In religious terms, this is "singular grace."

3.

During the dinner, the General Gourmet recalled when he attended a banquet in a British coffee house, saying: "General Gary was our host of the evening. He said that this woman, this chef, has the ability to turn the banquet into a romantic event. The ability to make appetite and spiritual enjoyment become inseparable lingering."
Babette’s Feast is an authentic and perfect French meal, truffle foie gras with grilled quail, turtle soup and other dishes, red wine and champagne from a specific winery in a specific year, exquisite desserts, and carefully selected seasonal dishes. The fresh fruits gave the audience a visual impact and delicious reverie. In the prosperous and luxurious capital of Paris, this feast is full of joy, while in the remote Danish countryside, this feast is a charcoal in the snow, and it is even more icing on the cake-Babette used a meal to resolve the crisis of the collapse of the "sect". At the same time, the believers released their body and mind and enjoyed the "grace" of God.
According to director Gabriel Akshay, the "production process" of Babette's Banquet and the "journey of enjoyment" of the actors are "real". In other words, they really did a French meal, and the actors also really ate a French meal. Of course, the real chef is not Stefan Alderan (Barbet’s Actor). The expressions of the actors eating at the "banquet" are not all performances, but may also be real expressions.
This "reality" gives the "Babette's Banquet" the visible "deliciousness" and gives the audience appetite (so hungry!) and spiritual enjoyment (really hungry!) while watching the movie. In fact, regardless of love and belief, food itself can be very sacred (showing the true nature of food).

4.

After the banquet between Babette and Stefan Alderan , the sisters thought that the "rich man" Babette would leave them, but Babette told them that the 10,000 francs she had won has already All spent for the banquet. Babette became a "poor man" again, but she said: "A true artist is never poor."
In 1871, the Paris Commune revolution broke out. Babette lost her relatives in the revolution, and she came to this remote Denmark. When she was in the village, she had no worries. She is a true artist, and there is no essential difference in her "artistic value" whether she serves the upper class (the diners who enter and exit British cafes are either rich or expensive) or serve this group of poor believers. In this village, in addition to satisfying the appetites of the believers, she also improved their feelings about food (When Babette took a leave of absence to prepare for the banquet, the believers felt hard to swallow the food cooked by the sisters. ), she also practiced the "gourmet spirit" that makes "appetite and spiritual enjoyment become inseparable lingering".

Stefan Alderan, the actor of Babette, is a well-known French actress. She is now 85 years old and has been out of the screen for nearly 10 years. She is the second wife of the famous French New Wave director Claude Chabrol. Their marriage lasted from 1964 to 1980. After the friendly breakup, they continued to cooperate in movies. They have collaborated on more than 20 movies. So much collaboration between a director and an actor is rare in the history of film. Although Stefan Alderan is not a big star, in my mind, she is also a goddess, because she starred in "The Prudent Charm of the Bourgeoisie" (1972), "The Deer" (1968), "Cousins" (1959) and other classics. Of course, the role of Babette is also one of the most important roles in her acting career.

5, Gabriel Ake thank

Claude Chabrol had been "Babette's Feast" of candidates for the director, but the producers eventually chose the prestige, history was far better than Claude Chabrol's Gabriel Akshay, one of the most important reasons is that Gabriel Akshay is a Danish, but about half of his life is spent in France. This choice is very risky, because Gabriel Akshay has never made such a heart-warming film before. His previous resume was famous for making erotic films, and he was nearly 70 years old when he was filming this film. Up.
It turns out that this choice was right, and for Gabriel Akshay, he also encountered a film that rewrote his film career. Outside of "Babette's Banquet", Gabriel Akshay has no heavyweight works-he is the kind of director who takes a film history with a film.
Gabriel Akshay’s artistic accomplishment is very good. In order to make this film well, he referred to many classic paintings, and finally gave the film "Namier tone", which is cold and warm, echoing the depression and coldness of the Danish countryside. , Without losing the simplicity and peace between people. The composition of the film is also closer to traditional painting, with a certain classic elegance. Gabriel Aksei, who is good at making erotic films, can express this story boldly, adding more passion and desire, but he chose a relatively conservative shooting method to suit the background of the story.

6. Isaac Dinason or Karen Brixon

"Babette's Banquet" is adapted from the short story of the same name by the Danish national treasure female writer Karen Brixen.
Karen Blixen has a more famous pen name called Isaac Dinason, under which she has published classic novels such as "Out of Africa". The film of the same name adapted from "Out of Africa" ​​(1985) won 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director that year.
Karen Brixen is sensitive, narcissistic, and strong, so she was able to write a "female epic" like "Out of Africa", and "Babette's Banquet", no matter the story or content, is the same as "Out of Africa" "It's a far cry from its elegance and beauty, which allows us to see the other side of Karen Brixen-she who jumps out of her self, is a wise and imaginative storyteller.

7. British cafes

We already know that Babette is from a British cafe. She used to be the chef of this top restaurant in Paris.
What we don't know is that the British coffee shop really exists. It was born in 1815 and didn't close until the beginning of the 20th century. It was indeed a famous restaurant in Paris, famous for its French cuisine. The character of Babette is of course fictitious and untraceable. In the history of British cafes, there is no such a female chef.
From the facade, the British cafes were magnificent in those days. A meal cost 10,000 francs, which should be the "normal price".
Obviously known for its French cuisine, why is it called "British Cafe"? Sorry, I don't know either.

8. Carl Theodore Delaire’s legacy

Karl Theodore Delaire is undoubtedly the greatest film director in Denmark so far. He left behind "The Dilemma of Joan of Arc" (1928), " "Day of Revenge" (1943), "Words" (1955), "Ge Chu" (1966) and other film history classics.
Gabriel Aksei, who is also a Danish director, also respects this predecessor very much. He paid tribute to this great director in a very special way in "Babette's Banquet". The old believers in the film are already seventy or eighty-year-olds both in and out of the film, and most of them are Delaiye's queen actors back then! The changes in the subtle expressions on the faces of the old drama bones every time they eat a dish at the banquet are exquisite—this is the precious legacy of the great Dreyer.

9. Reverse everything.

If you want to choose the most beautiful movie in film history, "Babette's Banquet" must be selected, but under the beauty and in front of food, we can also question it.
Martina and Philippa's rejection of the general and Papan is actually unkind. It can even be said that they are stubborn, closed, and abstinent. The sisters’ refusal of love was played by the old priest. His honey-like smile can be understood as friendliness, but it can also be understood as hiding a knife in the smile—a knife that cuts off the marriage of his daughter.
If the above paragraph is used as the basis for the argument, then Babette’s Feast can also be subverted-this meal is a victory of appetite and human nature over religious abstinence and self-confidence.
There is a thousand Hamlet in the eyes of a thousand spectators. After the movie is finished, it belongs to the audience, and you can understand it forward or backward. Perhaps Karen Brixen and Gabriel Akshay are hiding behind the screen, looking at us slyly.

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Extended Reading
  • Rosalia 2022-03-25 09:01:16

    It's so simple that people realize it. It turns out that movies can be so simple, and simplicity is beauty. Now many directors have forgotten about it. Food saves the soul, and art makes people noble. I'm with you every day of my life, past, present, and future, you know, right?

  • Rhett 2022-01-13 08:01:20

    A / I can see the charm of Japanese movies in Nordic movies (perhaps closer to the hybrid of France and Italy?), and the intercultural blend of divinity and secularity is slowly developed in daily life, which is wonderful. Get rid of any type that can be summarized, and run through with a sense of tenacity and abundance of life. It outlines the relationship between characters with behavior, distance, and events, and refuses to obsess over the three-dimensional sense of focused narrative, spreading out like a scroll. A ritual with no "speech" is used to dispel the taboos without much judgment, so that the states of the characters in the images tease each other and even cause commotion. To some extent it is better than "Diet for Men and Women".

Babette's Feast quotes

  • Babette: After the coffee, in the small glasses. And light the candles in the sitting room.

    Erik - Serving Boy: [reading the label on the bottle] Vie-ux Marc feened champagne.

  • Babette: Papin understood that.

    Filippa: Achille Papin?

    Babette: Yes. He'd say, "Through all the world there goes on long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me leave to do my utmost."