This was recommended by my mother and it took me far too long to get around to watching it. I had heard of Babette's Feast before, nothing more than quiet whispers on obscure film forums where people take their opinions far too seriously and declare vendetta's against the ignorant or the pretentious often falling victim to exactly those criticisms. We're all at times hypocrites, all a little too wrapped up in our own view of the world. The goal of objective observation is so often completely out of our reach. And this is exactly the message the film so articulately expresses.
We're introduced to the lead characters in their later years, icons of charity in their small village. They take it upon themselves to feed the weak and the poor, to keep the dying from dying alone. The film develops their characters by exploring their young adulthood, daughters of a strict priest, forever penitent, forever obedient. The father is portrayed as flawless in his faith, a pillar of the community, a visionary preacher, but he makes no secret the disdain he has for the upper class, for vanity, fame, beauty, and bliss. This is most clear in the way he reacts to the introduction of two suitors, one a soldier destined for conquest, the other an opera singer destined for fame, who try their best to romance the two sisters. The first fails because he realizes the impossibility of taking the daughter with him on his journey through life. The second fails when the object of his affection realizes his intentions of love. Both daughters are obviously terrified of love, terrified of passion, obedient to the values carried down from their father's supreme modesty. The suitors go on to live lavish lives of fame and conquest and the daughters go on with a life of righteousness.
And then we're introduced to Babette, a former chef from Paris who is forced to flee during a revolution, a close acquaintance of one of the suitors. She embraces the small village's way of life unflinchingly as she's taught simple dishes consisting of fish and bread soup. Things seem to be going very well for the sisters and their new cook until subtle rumblings of discontent form in the community, accusations of exploitation, of swindling, all handled passive aggressively and allowed to escalate. The sisters have no idea how to resolve this building tension but do their best by reverting to the teachings of their late father.
Then without any warning, Babette wins a lottery worth 10,000 francs. Now to you, or me, or anyone else this would obviously be a stroke of luck, something joyous and worth celebrating, but this event turns out to be the major conflict of the film. Babette decides to use the money for a lavish French dinner for the small village to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the priest's birth. Leading up to the dinner, the community is absolutely terrified. Stricken with nightmares, the modest people pray fervently to avoid what will surely turn out to be a disaster. They've lived their entire lives on fish and bread soup, of course they're going to be fearful of a dinner consisting of strange, foreign animals, of decadent wines, of flavors and sensations they would never have dreamed of. The townspeople eventually decide to ignore the particulars of the meal, to shield themselves from the evil of decadence, to participate passively and pray for forgiveness afterward.
One of the suitors, now a decorated general, is invited to the dinner and he expresses on his journey that he's going to use the time to reflect on whether or not he made the right choice to devote his life to fame and success when he could have just as easily lived as a modest farmer or fisherman with one of the daughters. At the time he seems overwhelmed with uneasiness as anyone would be when asked the question, "Are you sure you lived your life correctly?"
As the meal begins, the townspeople seem uncomfortable, not sure how exactly to proceed, but they keep a watchful eye on the general, mimicking his approach to consuming the relatively complex dishes. As time goes by, as more alcohol is consumed, the townspeople start to let their guards down. The tension that would have eventually led the village toward destruction eases with each subsequent dish.
By witnessing the stark contrast between the initial hesitation of his hosts and his own worldliness, and the gradual evolution toward simple brotherly enjoyment in life, the general has an epiphany. He addresses the table and suggests that there is ultimately no difference between a life of fame and a life of righteousness. We are simply actors as time moves forward. The choices we make in life are the choices we were meant to make. We can choose to regret our past decisions and that is itself a perfectly valid action, but when you set that option against just enjoying the passing days, finding a passion and succeeding at it, sitting down to good food and drink when you can, why would you waste your time with regret?
Everyone is in exactly the right place and the decisions made are exactly correct.
At the end of dinner as the general is saying goodbye to the woman he loved but never got the chance to be with, he says though they could never be together physically, they would always be together in spirit. In saying this, the general makes it clear that the natural world sets no limit on the potential for love or on any emotion or sensation for that matter. Our life may take us down a particular path, but a sense of universality is always there to keep us from feeling lost or alone. This, I think, is a profoundly deep observation and this film approaches it beautifully. Babette's Feast deserves its reputation in the annals of film.
5/5
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