1987 Winner, Babette's Feast

Babette’s Feast

Director:  Gabriel Axel

Distributed by:  Orion Classics

Released:  August 1987

Countries:  Denmark

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” --Isaiah 25:6

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen." --Catholic grace prayer

Maintaining a proper diet and fasting for religious reasons are worthwhile and important endeavors for one’s health and soul.  But sometimes, you just gotta dig in!  Celebrations go hand in hand with a good meal, or at least great hors d’oeuvres—I have been known to decline attending a wedding reception or two that didn’t have those bacon-wrapped scallops as part of the pre-dinner package (apologies to my nephew Fred and his lovely bride Cindy!).   Indeed, feasts even have significance in many of the world’s religions, particularly Christianity.  The Book of Revelations compares Heaven to a wedding feast (so you

Babette preparing the feast

know they’ll have those scallop-deals).   And of course, shortly before his death, Jesus didn’t ask the Apostles out for a run or a paintball weekend, but to his Last Supper.  A good meal together, it can be said, is a gift from God.

This is the message of the 1987 Danish winner of the Best Foreign Film, Babette’s Feast. The story centers on two old sisters, daughters of their late father, a very pious and austere Protestant pastor in a remote part of Denmark in the 1870’s.  The sisters live a somber existence, in contact with few folks other than the aging members of their father’s puritanical sect.  For dinner every night, they sip a flavorless broth that would probably be better suited for cleaning dirty socks.  They believe God wants them to deny themselves every joy that good food would bring.  We can assume that even despite what country they live in, gruel is the morning meal and not a good cheese Danish.

"Let me tell you, baby, you have some great pipes!"

But the sisters have a past—each had a love that came into their lives many years ago, however briefly.  One sister had been courted by a military man, the other a French music teacher who saw in her great talent as a singer.  Both sisters denied their loves because they, or more importantly, their father, believed that God wanted it that way.  As older women, into their lives comes Babette, a French woman who has lost her family and way of life in revolution-torn France.   The sisters take Babette in as their housekeeper.  She insists that her only pay be to live with the sisters and share in their crummy daily soup.

While living with the sisters for a dozen years or so, and being treated like a member of the family, Babette maintained one tie to her native France—a lottery ticket renewed by a friend every year.  One day, unbelievably, Babette learns she has won a small fortune, and with France now in a period of stability, she can return home if she wishes.

 

Twelve at the supper.  Remind you of anything?

Before she does, though, she proclaims to her sisters that she will throw a good old fashioned French dinner, with guests and wine and thick sauces and French bread and French fries and everything else that comes with a French dinner.  Of course, the sisters are aghast—they haven’t had anything other than Sock Soup for years and years.  Would God approve?

Babette’s Feast is a film filled with religious and philosophical themes, but to its credit, they are subtlety presented.  Be warned:  If you get bored easily, this may not be for you.  This is a character-driven movie, examining the motives of Babette and her two sisters, and their relationships.  But there are funny moments and the acting is very nuanced and understated. Especially good is Stephane Audran, who plays Babette (and appears prominently in 1972’s Best Foreign Film from France, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie).

 

Essentially, the film is about selfless giving and the willingness to receive.  Babette wants to throw her friends a party they are determined not to enjoy, and she is willing to go through great trouble and sacrifice to do it.  She does it because she loves them.  The question is, will her friends love her back enough to appreciate what she is doing for them?

The Title:  Babettes gæstebud, which is Danish.  The name “Babette” means, "My God is My Oath."

Pontifical Thumbs-Up

The Culture:  An interesting clash between the puritanical outlook of the Danes and the love for the beautiful that defines the French characters. 

Agenda Danger:  There is no political bent here.  The film is based on the short story by Karen Blixen, who also wrote Out of Africa, also made into a movie.  Blixen was not Catholic, but this movie is—when he was still a Cardinal, Jorge Bergolio, now Pope Francis, expressed that this was his favorite film.

Best Picture that year: The Last Emperor

Rating:  Bon Appetite! 

1988 Winner, Pelle the Conqueror

Pelle the Conqueror

Director:  Billie August

Distributed by:  Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden) and Kærne Film (Denmark)

Released:  December 1987

Countries:  Denmark and Sweden

There are some films—some very good films—that after you finish watching, you walk away without a good idea in your head what the plot was.  You may tell someone else you liked the film, but if pressed to relay what it was about, you are unable to coherently give a satisfactory response, ending by saying something like, “Uh, it was pretty good.”  Pelle the Conqueror is one of these films.

Set sometime in the mid-1800’s, a Swedish father and son emigrate to Denmark to start over again after the death of the boy’s mother.  The father, Lasse, played by Max von Sydow, is rather old to have an 11-year old son

Pelle asking Lasse to come home

and is feeling his age.  Lasse thinks things may be better, but the only work, and place to live, he can find is on a farm as laborers.  The movie is mostly about the tough times they experience on the farm, included being treated by the Swedes as second-class citizens.  Lasse takes up with a woman whose husband is missing at sea, which is not looked at kindly by the townspeople, including the kids, who mistreat Pelle in school for having such a father.

If this doesn’t sound like much of a story, it’s because it isn’t.  This point is, mostly, that the father, Lasse, realizes he is stuck in life and has to make due with a possible widow and all the booze he can get his hands on.  It’s Pelle who has a shot to make it in life, as long as he can escape the life on the farm.  An older rebellious man working on the farm instills in him the dream to make it on his own, to live a life in which he isn’t told what to do, possibly in America.

"The power of Christ compels you!"

I can’t say I found the film entertaining really, but watching a masterful actor at his craft was what made this worth watching.  Von Sydow is truly an international star, having starred in the classic Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal from 1957, a Swedish film, famous for his game of chess with the Grim Reaper.  He also, of course, was the titular character in 1973’s The Exorcist.  But his role in this film earned him a Best Actor nomination, and rightfully so.  His relationship with Pelle is somewhat ambiguous—there is certainly love between them, and Lasse will sacrifice for him and protect him.  But the father was not quite admirable, as he struggles with who he is and what he wants for his son. 

The Title:  Pelle Erobreren or Pelle erövraren, depending on if you are looking at the Danish or Swedish title, respectively.  The old man calls Pelle that to keep his chin up. 

"You took your finger off!  No take-backs!"

The Culture:  Unexplained is why the father and son move from Sweden to Denmark.  Given the bleak, almost washed-out quality of the film, Denmark doesn’t seem like a great place to move to in 1850.

Agenda Danger:  The movie is based on the first part of a 1910 novel of the same name written by Martin Anderson Nexo.  The book deals with Pelle growing up and becoming a labor leader who embraces communism.  This film sets the table for the need for such reform, but this is not really a leftist film—it concentrates on the father/son relationship.

Best Picture that year: Rain Man

Rating:  Uh, it was pretty good.